Legacy Continued: Path of the Shinigami
by satansrogue
Summary: Naruto has died fighting the remaining members of Akatsuki. Singlehandedly he fought them off, but falls in the process. As his life ends, a new path opens for our hero, as he continues his path and journey in the afterlife. Naruto x Bleach Crossover. R
1. Legacy Continued

Hey guys, this is my all new supercool fanfic! It's a Naruto x Bleach Crossover. Don't worry I will be continuing this along with my other fics, but I just wanted some variation. )

Main paring will be NaruHina, but may make it NaruHarem, if you lot want.

I would appreciate names of Kenjutsu styles and descriptions that could be used, as well as suggestions Naruto's Shikai and Bankai!

Please vote on whether you want Harem or not!

Hope you enjoy!

**Satansrogue**

Chapter1

Naruto looked down at the battlefield before him. The once flat plains now consisted of a series of craters and scorched surface. The sun was now setting over the horizon, the sky red.

Below he saw seven bodies in total, six wore a black cloak with red clouds, and these were the final members of the S-Class organization, Akatsuki. Over the last 6 years the organisation had begun to consolidate its power. It had first taken over the tiny and inaccessible Hidden Waterfall Village and that was the place that marked the beginning of Akatsuki's reign of terror. From there Akatsuki had taken village after village, consolidating their power until they could overthrow Daimyo's, all the while continuing their search for the sealed bijuu's.

Naruto had finally achieved his dream one year earlier, and the council had made him the Rokudaime Hokage, and Tsunade retired and took her seat on the council. Two years previously Naruto had brought Sasuke back to Konoha, after he had killed Itachi. Surprisingly, Sasuke had come willingly, although forcing Naruto to spar with him first. Naruto had beaten Sasuke in record time, and their friendship had been renewed since then, and the two were now reminiscent of brothers.

Naruto was the embodiment of the Will of Fire, and now his subordinates listened to him without questioning his motives, always knowing he would do whatever was best for Konoha. He was Namikaze Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage, the Master of the Rasengan and Hiraishin left to him by his father, the Yondaime, known throughout the elemental countries as the God of Shinobi.

However, as all great heroes and legends before his time had now come to pass. As the Shodaime had faced down Uchiha Madara, the Yondaime sealing Kyuubi and the Sandaime fighting Orochimaru, he Namikaze Naruto had done the impossible. He had faced down four members of Akatsuki by himself and defeated them single-handedly.

* * *

Akatsuki had tried to leave Naruto as the last Bijuu, because he had become such a large threat to them and their plans. However, this did not work out, as Naruto had gathered two of the other remaining Bijuus, Gaara and Yugito. Naruto had put Sakura and Sasuke as his seconds in command, and they had led some of the Konoha shinobi into the battle. This was to be the last stand against Akatsuki, and as such the remaining villages and kages had lent their support. Akatsuki now had a huge army. They had taken all of the shinobi from villages they had conquered, and accepted all missing-nins into their ranks. The Raikage and Mizukage found themselves fighting in the midst of a battle against Akatsuki troops, cut off from their own forces. They could not reach the Akatsuki leaders, who were now facing off against Naruto's personal unit.

Sakura and Sasuke had faced down Kakuzu, and Gaara and Yugito had faced Kotetsu. They had asked to have a separate opponent each, but Naruto had flatly refused, and had threatened to exclude them, knowing Naruto was the only one who could do such a thing they had agreed.

Naruto had managed to dispose of Kisame using his Dance of the Eternal Dragon taijutsu form, and a simple kinjutsu strike to finish him. For Tobi Naruto had used a series of Fuuton and Doton jutsu, while keeping his other opponent busy with hundreds of clones. He had then moved onto Hidan, and had used the Twin Dragon and Shadow Dance kenjutsu forms.

However their leader, an enigma by the name of Pein, had not got involved until this point. Pein had been a student of Jiraiya's, but even the Toad Sage new next to nothing about him. By this point the battle had begun to subside, and many had turned to watch the impending legendary battle between to fighters who were undoubtedly the strongest in all the elemental countries. None tried to interfere or aid either Naruto or Pein, knowing that this fight was out of their league, beyond kage. The Mizukage and Raikage watched on in a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, knowing this would be the deciding battle, and that even they would never be able to keep up with these two fighters.

He had revealed his Rinnegan. Naruto and he removed their gravity seals and fought at lightning speeds, changing the terrain completely. In speed Naruto just about had the advantage with higher level gravity seals and the Hiraishin. However Pein's Rinnegan had allowed him to see everyone of Naruto's mo0ves and counter them. Furthermore Naruto was badly hurt and exhausted from his previous battles with the other Akatsuki members. Naruto had tried every kinjutsu dance he knew with his Dragon Fang Katana, and it had got him nowhere. Then he had tried Ninjutsu. He had used an array of elemental ninjutsu: fire, wind, earth, shadow and lightning. He had tried his Fuuton Rasengan, but Pein had dodged and evaded at every turn.

At the same time Pein was facing a similar problem. Naruto was the superior fighter, and he found that he could only evade and could not find any openings for attack. The only reason he was able to put up a fight was because of his knowledge of defensive jutsu, his taijutsu skills and his Rinnegan. Both opponents had been fighting for hours on end, and both were rapidly draining their chakra reserves.

Naruto finally saw that the only way he could succeed to defeat Pein would be to overpower him in such a way that he would not be able to evade, or close him off. His hands flashed through a set of handseals.

"**Rainbow Prison Jutsu!"** Naruto called out. A beam of light struck the Earth from above, and spread outwards. When it cleared the spectators could see that now Pein and Naruto were encased in a dome. The dome was a series of changing colours.

"Pein you rely too much on those damned eyes of yours," Naruto said, a slight smirk on his lips. "Let's see how you cope without them. The Rainbow Prison and my next jutsu were made especially for this fight. You see the Rainbow prison may not look all that, but there's something special about it. The Rainbow Prison also acts as a light filter. Now, everyone outside of our little dome won't be affected by what I'm about to do to you!" So saying Naruto pulled his hitai-ite over his eyes a huge grin on his face, and his Hokage robes billowed as he blurred through some handseals, before calling out, **"Heavenly Starlight Jutsu!" **

Naruto thrust out his palm, and it begun to glow fiercely, and the light began to expand, encompassing the whole dome. Pein realised what was happening too late, and could not avert his eyes in time. The shinobi outside the dome looked on in awe at the spectacle of changing colours, thanking Kami that Naruto had put up his Rainbow Prison.

When the light subsided Naruto pulled his hitai-ite up from over his eyes. He was dazzed slightly, not completely protected from the jutsus affects by his headband. Pein lay on the ground, a horrible scream ripped from his throat as he clasped his damaged eyes. Slowly he turned to face Naruto. Naruto winced as he saw Pein's once grey eyes were now pupil-less, and unseeing.

"You! You have taken away my eyes! You may be stronger than me Namikaze, but I will take you to the afterlife with me if I am to fall here!" So saying Pein had blurred through some handseals, too quickly for Naruto to draw his katana and kill him. He screamed, "**Angel of Death Jutsu, Damned Intervention!"** He laughed manically for a moment before stopping, his eyes widening slightly as he slumped over, obviously dead.

Naruto felt a horrible pain rack his body as he fell to his knees, a blood-curdling scream coming from his mouth. Suddenly he felt tired, and the Rainbow Prison dropped. In an instant he was surrounded by his comrades.

Hinata was the first to reach him, and dropped down beside him, gently checking his pulse. All the rest of his fellow shinobi came afterwards. The rest of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai, had survived, albeit with injuries. Kiba had lost Akamaru and had a gash across his forhead. Shino was fine, with slight Chakra exhaustion. Neji was bruised and battered, and he held an unconscious Tenten in his arms. Lee had broken bones, and was being supported by Shikamaru, who looked relatively fine. Ino was holding her arm; it was painfully obvious that she had broken it. Chouji, looked okay except for a few shallow cuts and bruises. Sakura and Sasuke had knelt down next to him too, both looked fine, yet exhausted. The sand siblings and Yugito were relatively unharmed.

"Hehe, pretty cool huh?" Naruto said, weakly. "Did you see how awesome I was? He didn't stand a chance, he had to use that cheap sacrificial jutsu to have a shot."

"Yeah, yeah we saw, dobe," Sasuke said.

"It's about time you admitted I was awesome teme, too bad I won't be around to enjoy it for long huh?" Naruto said weakly coughing.

"Please, Naruto-kun, don't talk like that," Hinata wept. "We can take you back to Konoha, Tsunade-sama w...will fix you up in no time."

Naruto lifted up a hand and cupped Hinata's chin and pushed her head up so that she was looking at him, gently he placed a single kiss on her lips, before saying, "I'm sorry Hinata, but you and I both know that there is no escape from that jutsu. Know that I have and will always love you, I'll be waiting for you in the afterlife Hinata, but before you join me Hinata, do something for me. Live your life, and be happy, become the best clan head the Hyuuga have ever had, change their system for me." Hinata cried, but nodded her head slightly in reply.

"Oi Sasuke!" Naruto called, beckoning him over. "Look after Sakura, heh? I want you to do something for me Sasuke. Hey Konohamaru come out here!" Konohamaru pulled out from under Asuma's arm and slowly approached, tears flowing freely down his face.

"Aniki! Please don't die1 I need you, we need you, Konoha needs you!" He said, burying his face in his hands."

"Konohamaru I might be gone from this world, but I will always live on in your heart and your mind. You don't need me Konohamaru, you're strong. Well you gotta be, cos I won't let a weakling become the next Hokage! Sasuke, I want you to train Konohamaru. No-one else in our village will fit the mould. Train him until he is the strongest in our village, until he surpasses you, and be his right-hand man, as you were mine, as the ANBU commander." Konohamura looked up; in shock that Naruto actually wanted him to succeed him. "Konohamaru, you have the Will of Fire. Grow strong for ji-ji, for me, for Konoha and all your precious people, become strong enough to protect them." Konohamaru wiped away his tears and nodded resolutely, his face and his resolve set in determination for his task.

Naruto began to cough loudly, and Sakura rushed to help him, but he stopped her by thrusting hid hand out.

He looked around at those surrounding him and smiled gently, "Good bye my friends it was an honour to fight beside you." Then he looked at Hinata, drinking in her every feature, setting it in his mind, before lifting his hand and gently caressing her cheek, "Goodbye, my love, my heart will always belong to you."

Looking around Naruto saw everyone's depressed aces, and hoped his last words would cheer them up: "I hope there's ramen in the afterlife..."

"Thinking about your stomach even in death, huh dobe??" Sasuke said, gently closing Naruto's eyelids.

Together all the gathered shinobi mourned the death of Namikaze Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage and the greatest Hero and Legend the Elemental Countries had and would ever see. Though they did not know it yet, that moment marked the beginning of a golden age. Villages were rebuilt, and alliances were formed between kages, mostly out of respect for Naruto and to prevent another event such as this to occur again. Statues of Naruto were put up, and the legend of Naruto would be told for centuries to come.

* * *

Naruto now found himself hovering in the air, and looking down at his own body, as everyone crowded around it. At first he had thought he was a bird, but looking down at himself he saw that he still had his own body. What puzzled him was the fact that he had a chain coming out of his chest. He had tried to communicate with those below him, but they did not hear him. As a result he had decided he must have become a spirit of some sort.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around but saw no-one. He felt a tug on his Kage robes.

"Hey, mista! Down here!" Naruto looked down to see a small girl with bright pink hair. She was weaing black robes and had a small sword slung across her back.

"Huh, who're you?"

"I'm Yachiru! Great fight mista! Ken-chan got all giddy, I think he might have even giggled!"

"Kenpachi dos not giggle!" Naruto looked up to see a tall man, around seven feet, with a similar but slightly larger blade slung across his back. "But that was a pretty good fight. You'll be very interesting. I would fight you now, but you're defenceless."

"Hey I'm not defenceless! I have my jutsus! Look!" Naruto stuck out his hand and id the normal process for producing a **Rasengan, **but nothing happened. "Huh?! How come I haven't got any chakra?!"

"Baka! All you shinobi are the same. Chakra is life energy, once you died your life energy disappeared, as such you have no chakra with which to do your techniques, that's why I won't fight you!"

"Hmm, I guess.. wait that means I'm not the strongest anymore! I only have taijutsu now! I'm good at taijutsu, but without all my other stuff I'm a lot weaker. Hey, where's Dragon Fang?!" He said, reaching for his katana, but not finding it there.

"Your katana is a chakra enforced blade. It requires for the user to have chakra and enough of it. You have no chakra, get to terms with it numbskull!"

"Well you must be dead too, how come you've got a sword, and I can tell that it isn't an ordinary sword, it's powered by something like chakra!"

"This is my Zanpakutou (Soul Slayer), and it is powered by my spirit energy, reiatsu. I sense you have much reiatsu, but youm do not know how to channel it," Kenpachi said. "Reiatsu is found in the soul. How much reiatsu you have depend on your capacity, spirit and strength of will. To channel reiatsu you must reach into yourself and become one with your own soul, try it."

Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes for a moment. He could see a delicate silver thread in front or him. Tentatively he reached for it, and tightly grasped. He felt a shudder run through his spine and opened his eyes suddenly. He felt release, and Kenpachi looked on as Naruto's reiatsu materialised around him. He nodded in approval, this boy must be strong if his reiatsu materialised, but what interested him was the fact that Naruto's reiatsu was a brilliant gold, a colour he had never seen before. Naruto knocked ythrough all the barriers that had caged his reiatsu, and suddenly widns picked up around him, and blew Kenpachi backwards. His eyes widened. This was crazy! A kid with no Shinigami training had this much reiatsu. He had never felt so much, this kid had almost triple that of an average captain!

"Stop! Repress it, just like you did with your chakra!" Kenpachi roared over the winds. Naruto struggled for a moment before repressing his reiatsu.

"Was that any good?" Naruto asked.

"Th-that was bloody amazing kid! You have more than double what I have! Just wait until you can control it after your shinigami training! Then we'll fight!" Kenpachi said, shivering with anticipation.

"Shinigami? You're the shinigami?"

"Not the.. a shinigami kid."

"There's more than one?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yup. You'll get your training for it in Sereitei (Soul Society). I'll send out a transmission to get HQ to pick you up," so saying Kenpachi unsheathed his blade and promptly stamped Naruto on the head with the end of the hilt. The last thing Naruto saw was a flash of white light.

His new life in Soul Society was about to begin. A Hero and a Legend in Life, but soon to become even greater in Death!

Hope you liked that!

Remember to review and vote!

**Satansrogue**


	2. Who are you?

My all new amazing chapter. This one was fun to write, that's why it came out so qui9ck after the first. Hope you like.

Remember to vote for harem or no harem! Give me ideas for Shikai and Bankai.

Enjoy...

Chapter 2

Naruto found himself in a street

Naruto found himself in a street. There were few people and a couple of buildings around. He walked into a bar, hoping to find out where he was. It was a rather empty place, only about ten people all together. He walked up to the bar, and the owner, a short stubby man, greeted him.

"Can I get you anything? Sake? I've just got a special delivery in from my supplier, it's the best quality stuff, and they even sell it in Seireitei!"

"No, thanks," in life Naruto had never had the taste for sake, he doubted he would enjoy it in death. "I was wondering if you could tell me where we are?"

"Ahh, new arrival, are you?" Not waiting for the bartender carried on, "Well, we're in the 65th Rukongai District. If you have enough reiatsu, you'll get snapped up by Seireitei and get Shinigami training, if not you're stuck in this dump for an eternity, literally. Luckily for you, the next check up is scheduled for later today, so if you've got the potential, you'll find out soon."

"Check up?"

"Yeah, once a fortnight a squadron of Shinigami are sent around here to pick up anyone who has the talent to become a Shinigami. If you're brave enough, you challenge one of 'em, and if the squadron leader thinks you got the potential, he'll snap you right up, and drag you back to Seireitei. Unfortunately, ordinary folk like me get suck here, and none of us get to see behind those high walls of Seireitei. You sure you don't wanna drink?"

Naruto gave a slight shake of his head. Just then they heard a loud noise outside. Everyone got up, and went out to see what was going on. A young man lay in the dust, clutching the side of his arm, whimpering. Another man, this one was clad in black like Kenpachi leading Naruto to believe he was a Shinigami, towered over the fallen man.

"Huh, just like the rest of the talent less no-bodies in this dump," the Shinigami sneered, his lips curling in distaste. "You make me laugh! Thinking you're good enough to join our ranks, you're basically talent less." Behind tee Shinigami, another group of Shinigami sniggered at the unfortunate soul, but behind them a hooded man stood there, watching impassively.

Naruto felt his blood boiling. Sprinting forward at speeds the Shinigami could not see he struck the man underneath his jaw, send him flying into a wall. The rest of his group made forward to grab Naruto, but he stuck a hand up to halt them. He got to his feet, spitting out blood, before looking into Naruto's enraged eyes.

"People like you make me sick!" Naruto roared. "It's bad enough these people have to live in a place like this, but on top of that you rub it in their faces and treat them like shit?"

"Huh, if they aren't strong enough to become Shinigami, then they're worthless," he said smirking, full of confidence, Naruto growled. "Why don't you back up your growl with some bite? They say actions speak louder then words."

Naruto sprinted forward, but the Shinigami did not move. He simply thrust out his hand, fingers pointing at Naruto and called out **"Bakudo #1: Restrain,"** his fingers glowed for a second. Suddenly Naruto fell to his knees, feeling his arms bound to his sides, and unable to move.

The Shinigami laughed loudly, "You're no different from the rest. Weak. All it took was the simplest binding technique to get you down; I didn't even have to draw my Zanpakutou. You don't even seem to have any reiatsu! Did you really think that a commoner such as yourself could handle me? The 13th Squad 4th seat, Masabe Tashi!" He truned and walked towards his buddies, thinking Naruto was down, while the Rukongai citizens who had gathered watched in disappointment.

Naruto struggled against the binding, beads of perspiration on his face as he put his whole will behind the push and shattered the binds. The Shinigami's all turned around to face him in absolute shock; no-one without training had done that before on the Rukongai visits! Who was this guy? One of the Rukongai citizens began to cheer Naruto on, and before he knew it, all of them were cheering and whistling.

"Heh. If you think something like that's gonna keep Namikaze Naruto down, you got another thing coming!" Naruto said flashing a foxy grin, settling into a taijutsu stance for the Eternal Dragon Dance. Like a shot he moved forward, hitting the Shinigami in a dozen points before he could react, causing him to double over. Naruto put some space between himself and Masabe, looking at his handy-work. The Shinigami winced and got to his feet, glaring at Naruto.

"So you think you're all that because you got out of the weakest restraining technique there is huh? I'll show you! You'll regret messing with me!" So saying Masabe drew his Zanpakutou from his side and charged at Naruto. Naruto turned off the barriers around his reiatsu, and allowed some of it to form around him. The group of Shinigami found themselves on their knees from the spirit pressure; the only one left standing was the hooded Shinigami. Masabe found himself unable to move.

"Wh-who are you?" Masabe stuttered, fearing for his life (or should I say death)

Naruto chuckled, "No reiatsu huh? Not so confident now, huh? You're lucky I didn't use all of my reiatsu, otherwise I would have blown you away. You know, it would be boring to end our fight like this, guess I'll hold some back to give you a chance." Naruto pulled some of his reiatsu back into himself, relieving the spirit pressure around him, causing his golden aura to recede, so he was just coated with a dim glow instead. "Now come on!" Naruto said, beckoning with two fingers.

Masabe seeing this as an opportunity gripped his Zanpakutou in both hands and charged at Naruto. Naruto smirked for a second, before concentrating on his gravity seals, which were now filled with reiatsu rather than chakra, and drawing a little bit of reiatsu from them. He had only drawn out about a quarter, feeling this should be enough to finish this opponent. He smirked for a second before disappearing from view and appearing behind Masabe and sending a kick to his side.

"Too slow. You may have training and a kenjutsu skills, but at my speed, you look like a snail."

Masabe roared in frustration and charged again. This time Naruto did not move, he simply waited for the sword swing to come to him. Masabe was confused why Naruto had not moved, but he was sure he had the his blonde opponent this time. As the dust settle the spectators were greeted with the sight of Masabe's Zanpakutou being stopped by Naruto's hand. Naruto's hand was resting against the flat of the blade, pushing the sword away from him. Naruto leaned forward and spoke to Masabe.

"I told you, too slow. Try something else; it's clear this thing won't work. I'd be interested to see some more of your techniques."

Masabe leapt back and sheathed his Zanpakutou. And held his hand splayed in front of him, palm facing Naruto. He called out, **"Hado #31, Shot of Red Fire!", **and a large red beam of light shot out of his hand and hit Naruto on the chest, sending him flying into a wall. Masabe breathed heavily, arms dropping to is sides, sure that Naruto was down this time.

Naruto shot back up to his feet energetically, and ran forward to face a shocked Masabe, "That was awesome! After I whoop your butt, you're gonna take me to that Seireitei place and get someone to teach me those things!" Naruto said punching his hands into the air, like an energetic kid. Masabe could not believe it! What did it take to get this person down?! He didn't have any Shinigami training, but the guy was making him look like a rookie! "Anyway," Naruto said, "I'm gonna finish this now. Sorry but you kinda suck, it's good you're only a fourth seat." So saying Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind Masabe. He decided to try something, and flashed through some handseals, this time attempting to mould reiatsu rather than chakra, roaring out **"Katon Goukakyou no Jutsu!", **but to his disappointment nothing happened. He decided to try something else, disappearing again to face Masabe. "Okay this time it'll work!" Disappearing he reappeared behind Masabe, yet again. This time he stuck out his right hand and willed the reiatsu to for just like chakra. He swirled it around, remembering how Ero-Sennin had taught him, and to his delight there it was, a **Rasengan**! This Rasengan was the same as his usual one, but golden, the colour of his reiatsu. He struck his hand lightning fast into Masabe's back, sending him flying through the air into a wall, where he fell unconscious.

The rest of the group of Shinigami looked on in a mixture of shock and awe. One of them shook himself out of his stupor glared at Naruto before shouting, "He thinks he can get away with hurting one of us! Let's show him who's boss," so saying he reached for the hilt of his Zanpakutou, and the rest were just about to follow suit, when three flashes appeared in front of Naruto. From what Naruto could see the first figure was the hooded-man, the second was a bald man and the last a black haired man with yellow and red hairclips.

"Kaien, who are you trying to fool with that hood?" The bald one said, causing the hooded man to pull back his hood to reveal his face. He had dark blue hair and the number 69 tattooed on the side of his face.

"Kaien, your subordinates are rather ungraceful. You should teach them to be more refined in combat, they are rather loud and brash too," said the black haired man with the hair clips.

"Hmm. Guess you're right Yumichika. As of now, every single one of you slackers are having double the chores and two hours of extra training time under myself! I can't believe that my fourth seat just got his ass handed to him by a rookie, granted he was a powerful rookie, but that's not the point. The way you acted is a disgrace, Ukitake-taichou will not be happy! And when Masabe wakes up tell him he's demoted and that he's got cleaning duty for six months," Kaien roared at the unfortunate Shinigami's. "Now would you like to tell me what you and Ikkaku are doing here, Yumichika?"

"Zaraki-sama sent us here to pick up a soul, looks like we found him," Yumichika said, glancing in Naruto direction.

"Kenpachi sent you? As in that crazy dude with the eye patch," Naruto said, gesturing to his right eye.

"Yeah, he said you had talent," Ikkaku said, an odd gleam in his eyes, "He forbade me from fighting you until he had a go, so the sooner we get there, the sooner I can fight you."

"Wo-wo! Wait up. You're taking me to this place to fight me now?! Isn't that a bit unfair? I can't use any jutsus and I don't have my katana, while you guys have all your skills!"

"Hmmm, I suppose so; guess you're just a coward. I guess it's true, you might've handled that idiot Masabe, but I'm in a different league, plus I'm in the 11th squad. I guess I'll have to wait until your trainings done," Ikkaku said, turning on his heel, walking away.

"Hey, no-one calls Namikaze Naruto a coward! Get back here baldy!"

Ikkaku turned to face him, fire blazing in his eyes, "What did you just call me! I'm gonna kill you, you blond pretty boy! I'll show you why you shouldn't pick on the bald dude," Yumichika grabbed him behind the arms, restraining him to stop him from going at Naruto.

"Ikkaku, remember what Zaraki-sama said! Besides, what satisfaction will you get out of defeating an untrained boy? Wait until he's finished his training," Yumichika soothed.

"Hmph. I suppose, but if you make another jest at my lack of hair, you're dead, Zaraki-sama or not! You better be worth the wait pretty boy!" Ikkaku ranted.

"Oh I will be," Naruto said, with a smirk, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Would you to shut up, this is like a bloody soap! We might as well get back to Seireitei in time for lunch, come on," Kaien said sprinting off. Yumichika followed, and Naruto followed, after putting reiatsu back into his gravity seals.

"Hurry up baldy, else I'll leave you in the dust," Naruto said, teasing Ikkaku, who set off after him, swearing to make the blonde man suffer for the injury.

They left behind a crowd of confused Rukongai citizens. Everything had happened so fast that they couldn't really understand what had happened, but suddenly they burst out cheering for the blonde who had stood up for them.

Naruto smiled to himself, ignoring Ikkaku's tirade. **Seireitei here I come!**

I think that chapter was wicked, don't you? Hehe, boosted ego!

Not enough of you are reviewing! I need ideas for Shikai and Bankai. Do you want harem or not? Tell me!! Is it good, does it suck. Improvements!!

Review!!

**Satansrogue**


	3. Legend Retold

Hey dudes

Hey dudes! Next Chapter's up. Thanks for the reviews!

Well I'd like to thank all of you for your Shikai ideas, some of them were really great!

But I have chosen a winner! (drum roll)

The winner will be **Bluestone**! This guy had a really great idea. I felt his idea was compatible with my own, so a huge thanks to this dude. By the way, Naruto's gonna have two Zanpakutou's.

Even if you were.n't chosen this time, there is still a chance to get chosen if you have a good Bankai design for me )

On with the story! )

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Naruto found himself gaping at the sight. In front of him stood a huge wall, made completely of pure white stone, and just peaking over the wall you could sea turrets and towers, all topped with the Shinigami flag.

"Awesome! This place is sooooo cool!" Naruto said, his mouth still wide open.

"Yes, it is rather beautiful isn't it? Probably the reason why I seem to fit in, in this place," Yumichika mused.

"Naruto, close your mouth," Kaien said. "Oi, Jidanbou, open this gate!" Suddenly in a flash a giant appeared. This guy was almost as tall as the wall, and Naruto could only gape, do wonders never cease in this place?

"Kaien-san," Jidanbou said, inclining his head. "Ikkaku, Yumichika," he said acknowledging them. "Got a newbie with you, huh? What's your name little one?"

Naruto quickly shut his mouth and waved his fist into the air, "Hey who you calling little?! No-one calls Namikaze Naruto little!"

"He, a feisty one, huh? Don't worry, I was just kidding, now let me open this gate." Jidanbou reached under the gate and hoisted it up, allowing the small group to enter quickly before bidding them goodbye and letting it shut.

"Come on kid, I'll give you a tour of Godei 13," Kaien said, beckoning to Naruto, who agreed.

"We'll follow you up to our squad, we're going the same way anyway," Ikkaku said.

As they walked Kaien spoke to Naruto, "There are 13 squads of Shinigami, these squads have the duty of cleansing hollows, sending souls to Soul Society and protecting Soul Society. Each squad has different duties and responsibilities. Every squad is lead by a Captain, and every Captain has a Vice Captain, a 3rd and 4th seats." They had walked for a bit before Kaien came to a halt. "This is my squad, Squad 13, lead by Jushiro Ukitake, and I am the Vice Captain. Right now we are in the Godei 13 courtyard, linking all of the Squad buildings." After this Kaien gave Naruto a tour of the squads, at the 11th squad Ikkaku and Yumichika left them.

Then they reached the 1st squad, and by this time Naruto was just so amazed by everything he was hearing he was fit to burst. "This is the 1st squad, lead by the Captain in Chief of Godei 13, Yamamoto-sama, and his Vice Captain -"

"NARUTO??" Naruto turned to find himself seeing someone he had thought he would never see again.

"Sarutobi-sama," Kaien finished lamely, as Naruto rushed at the old man and crushed him in an embrace.

"Ojii-san! You're here!"

"Of course I am. So you died huh? A bit too early for my liking, but did you achieve your dream?" Sarutobi asked kindly.

"Heh, you betcha, Namikaze Naruto never fails! Well except for the Genin test, but that's not the point. You're looking at the Rokudaime Hokage, and officially the greatest hero in all of the Elemental Countries, looks like you got overtaken old man!" Naruto said grinning.

"Well you're going to have to tell me about this in a moment, but right now I have to be at a Godei 13 meeting. Naruto I think you should come, there is something we must discuss with Yamamoto-san after this, Kaien you are to come too," Sarutobi said.

* * *

A few moments later the three of them found themselves in front of a large door, it was almost as if a throne room lay on the other side, as the door was wrought with design made of gold and gems of all colours, precisely cut and placed into the door.

Sarutobi pushed opened the door and took a step in. Naruto looked inside. It was a well lit room, and well decorated. In the centre was a round table, with 26 seats. Sarutobi told Naruto to stay put next to the door before he and Kaien took their seats at the table.

"Sarutobi, who is this child you have brought to our meeting?" From Kaien's earlier description Naruto knew this man to be Yamamoto.

Everyone looked towards Naruto, Kenpachi's eyes flashed in recognition, and he had an odd gleam in his eyes, one of... _anticipation_?

"Yamamoto-san, I believe there are matters that must be discussed with him after our meeting," Sarutobi said simply.

"You make your way around quick, don't you?" Kenpachi asked smirking slightly, which Naruto returned his arms folded.

"You know this boy Kenpachi?" Kaname Tousen asked.

"Yes, even if you have seen him before, why do you remember him? You only ever remember the 'important' ones," Aizen Sousuke said, his interest peeked.

"He's interesting," Kenpachi said simply, resting back in his chair, his eyes still on Naruto, who was staring intently back, refusing to back down or break eye contact.

"So, you're suppressing your reiatsu, huh? Let it out, you have no-one to be afraid of here," said Ukitake, wanting to see the blonde's capacity, his own curiosity peeked.

"I'd prefer not to," Naruto said simply, his eyes never leaving Kenpachi's. The Captain's and their Vice-Captain's looked shocked; no-one had ever so bluntly refused a Captain before.

"Show some respect boy," said one woman, getting to her feet abruptly, "Do as Ukitake-taichou asks!"

"Calm down Soifon," Sarutobi soothed. Soifon sat down next to her Captain, who Naruto recognised as Yoruichi Shihoin. "Naruto don't be so rude, do as the Captain asks," Sarutobi chided.

Naruto rolled his eyes, and complied out of respect for Sarutobi. He let down his barriers and allowed some of his reiatsu to form around him. Everyone, except for Kenpachi, was shocked that an untrained soul had enough reiatsu to rival Kenpachi.

"Don't hold back on us, I know you have more," Kenpachi growled. The Captains and their Vice-Captain's almost gawped, catching themselves quickly before making the mistake. Even Byakuya's mask cracked slightly as his eyes widened. How could this kid have any more? Naruto glared at Kenpachi before letting all of his golden reiatsu form around him. The Vice-Captain's, who had been trained to resist spirit pressure, found it slightly difficult to move and breathe. Kenpachi smirked, as everyone sat there shocked, this was insane!

"Repress your reiatsu again boy," Yamamoto told Naruto, who did as he was asked, and pulled it back behind the barriers, causing the golden aura to disappear. "Sarutobi, who is this boy?" Yamamoto asked.

"This is Naruto, he used to be shinobi of my village, Konohagakure," Sarutobi said, not wanting to reveal too much about Naruto without the boy's permission.

"Is there anything that could have lead to him having so much reiatsu?" Sajin asked.

Sarutobi shared a glance with Naruto, who quickly understood what the Sandaime was asking of him. "Don't worry ojii-san, you can tell them, after all my past is what has made me who I am today."

Sarutobi sighed before he began to speak, "I'm assuming you know about your heritage, seeing as how your family name has changed?" Naruto gave a brief nod. "Namikaze Naruto, born on 13th February, to Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, and Uzumaki Kushina, ex-Whirlpool Shinobi who became a legendary ANBU Captain. On the day Naruto was born catastrophe struck, in the form of a demon, the Kyuubi no Youko, or the Nine-Tailed Fox, strongest of the Bijuu. The beast attacked our village, and our forces were no match for its raw power. Hoping to save our village, the Yondaime took to battle with the demon, his new-born son in hand. Minato tried, he used every technique at his disposal, and he was doing well, but he could see that no one man or men could hope to defeat the beast. He did the next best thing; he sealed it into his son Naruto, sacrificing his life in the process. He hoped his son would be seen as a hero."

"So, this kid was treated as a hero by his village then, and under their guidance he grew to become strong?" Yoruichi asked, Naruto snorted at that.

Sarutobi shook his head briefly before continuing, "Unfortunately, this was not so. I was reinstated as Hokage, and when I informed the village's population of what Minato had done, they quickly called for Naruto's death; I refused, and made the sealing an S-Class secret, punishable by death. I refrained the younger generation from hating Naruto, but their parents told them to stay away from Naruto, and to hate him. By the age of 6 there were 58 assassination attempts, had gone through 10 care homes, 6 mob beatings and 123 hospital visits for Namikaze Naruto." Sarutobi paused for breathe, as everyone took in the news, looks of shock and anger on their faces.

"All this time Naruto did not know of his heritage, in an attempt to keep him away from his father's enemies, he went by his mother's name. At age 7 Naruto entered the Shinobi Academy, he could not make any friends, and every child had been warned to keep away from him. The teachers were also biased, refusing to teach him in some cases, until finally one man, Umino Iruka, a young Chunin Sensei at the academy, saw Naruto for what he really was and accepted him. Naruto failed his genin test three times. On his fourth attempt he also failed, however one of his senseis, a man called Mizuki, with a particular dislike for him, tricked him into stealing our village's secret techniques scroll. When Naruto learnt Mizuki had tricked him he was angered, and using a technique he had learnt from the scroll, in no more than two hours, he defeated Mizuki. His sensei gave him a pass for this feat, and he became a genin because of this. He entered Team 7, lead by Hatake Kakashi, his father's ex-student, and his team mates were Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, the class prodigy.

All this time Naruto was driven by the sheer need to prove himself and gain acknowledgement, however as time went on he discovered what it truly meant to be strong and found a new, better reason to become strong. He found precious people: Iruka, his team mates, perhaps even me, and he trained and become stronger, not to gain acknowledgment, but to protect these people. His first C-class mission was bumped up to an A-rank after they encountered a powerful Missing-nin, but Naruto convinced his team to carry on, moved by the tale their contractor, a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna, had told them. On this mission, Naruto got his first bit of experience, he saw death, and fought to kill, all at the age of 11. He finally tapped into Kyuubi's Chakra.

Soon he was thrust into the Chunin exam, to advance a rank. He passed the first exam, in the process revealing the exam for what it really was, and giving others the courage to also pass. In the Second Exam their team was forced to fight Orochimaru, an S-Class nin, kage-level, who had interrupted the exam. Naruto was facing off against him, until he sealed away Naruto's chakra. They still passed the exam. In the third exam, Naruto fought a Leaf Genin, one year older than him. A prodigy from Konoha's elite clan, the Hyuuga. In front of a whole stadium, intent on proving himself, Naruto beat Hyuuga Neji, finally beginning to change people's opinion of him. Then our village was invaded and... I died, so I don't really know what happened next..."

Everyone was put off that such a captivating tale was ended so abruptly, and looked to Naruto expectantly. "Hnn," Naruto grunted, "When you list my achievements like that, it makes me sound like a genius or something," he said grinning. "Guess I better carry on where you left off." He looked around to see everyone facing him, he smirked slightly before continuing. "We were invaded by Sound and Sand, while the Hokage was trapped behind a barrier fighting Orochi-teme; we were facing off against the henchmen. Suna had a special weapon, by the name of Gaara. Gaara was a Jinchuuriki, just like me, except he was under the influence of his Bijuu. I headed off after Sasuke, who had chased after Gaara. When I arrives on the scene, Sasuke was beaten, and Sakura was about to get killed. I knew I had to do something before they got squished, so I faced off against Gaara. I summoned the Toad Boss, Gamabunta, and together we fought Gaara, who unleashed his demon fully. Finally I managed to defeat him, but I didn't kill him, I changed him. You see, I saw what Gaara really was. Him and I, we were very similar, both Containers, both despised in their homes. The only difference was that I had found precious people, I had resisted the temptation to become what he had, him, he had no-one. I told him what drove me to become strong, and beat him, a person who had never had a punch laid on him before. I told him he had to change, and offered him my hand in friendship. He changed, I was the first of his precious people, but many more came. He became the Kazekage, and fought to protect.

Me, I brought back the Godaime, Tsunade obaa-chan, to rule. Then Sasuke left, to betray our village and join Orochi-teme for power. Me and my friends pursued him, and were slowed down by a group of four Oto nin, the elites of Otogakure. Sasuke and I met in the Valley of the End, the place where the Shodaime had faced down Uchiha Madara. Sasuke released his Cursed Seal to Stage 2, and I tapped into Kyuubi's chakra. We clashed, I held back my attack to stop myself from killing him, he didn't, he stuck his lightning blade into my chest. Thanks to my regeneration, I survived, and promised my team mate, Sakura, that I would bring him back no matter what.

I left Konoha on a three year training trip, with my sensei, Jiraiya, returning 15 years old, matured and stronger. We had a new team mate, Sai. Together our cell undertook missions to return Sasuke. I trained, knowing I had to get stronger to return him. Finally I mastered my father's techniques to a standard even he could not achieve. I had combined this," Naruto stuck out his hand, allowing a Rasengan to form in his hand, he pressed it against the wall slightly, causing it to splinter away, before letting the Rasengan dissipate, "the Rasengan with the Wind element, to create the Fuuton rasengan, and had mastered the Hiraishin no Jutsu, and improved it with my own personal attributes and skills. I had also learnt hundreds of jutsus under Ero-Sennin and had trained with gravity seals and my kenjutsu was second to none, by this time I was 17.

Finally I met Sasuke, when his brother Itachi, who was responsible for killing Sasuke's family, had come to take me away. Itachi was member of the Criminal Organization, Akatsuki, a group intent on capturing all the Jinchuuriki, unsealing their Bijuu, and controlling their vast power. I let Sasuke fight Itachi, knowing he had to do this, I was already tired from fighting a squad of Oto ANBU. Sasuke beat Itachi quickly. Sasuke and I faced off, more for fun, as he was willing to come back to the village, now that he had killed Itachi. I beat him, and took him home.

Upon return to the village I found out my dream was becoming true. Tsunade obaa-chan was retiring, handing over her position to me. By this time the population of Konoha was more open to me; some still hated me, but most accepted me. The younger generation seemed to look up to me. I took over the mantle of Hokage, just when Akatsuki began to move.

Akatsuki attacked Oto first, eliminating Orochi-teme, and taking his forces. They used Oto as a base, and moved outwards from there, taking villages and overthrowing Daimyo's. We had skirmishes, but nothing major. Finally, I could take it no more. I gathered my forces, as did my friend, Gaara, the Kazekage, and we clashed with Akatsuki. My own personal squad consisted of Sasuke, Sakura, two other Jinchuuriki, Gaara and Yugito as well as my fiancé, Hyuuga Hinata, as back up, come med-nin. We clashed. The rest of my squad took 2 of the 7 remaining Akatsuki members between them, under my orders. I was left with the other 5. I took out four rather easily, but in the end it was just the leader, Pein and me. Pein possessed a Transcendent Bloodline, by the name of Rinnegan, it allowed him to foresee every one of my moves, and counter them. I did the only thing I could to defeat him, take away his eyes. I used my own personal jutsu, Rainbow Prison, so no-one outside the dome could be affected, or should I say blinded, by what was about to happen. I pulled my headband down, before using the Heavenly Starlight Jutsu to blind him. He knew he was beaten, but being the coward and worm he was he couldn't take it lying down. He used a sacrificial jutsu on me, and then I ended up in this place, after One-eye over there smacked on the head with his sword," Naruto finished, pointing accusingly at Kenpachi, who just smirked.

There was a moment of silence as everyone drank in all that he had just said, they were all shocked at how someone could suffer so much, yet prevail, at that moment they all felt the same thing for Naruto. Respect. Yamamoto broke the silence, "Naruto-san, your father is being kept in a detainment unit. It was part of the deal under which I sealed Kyuubi in you, that he would spend 22 years in there. In two and a half years he will be released. You mother is here in Seireitei, she is a Shinigami in Yoruichi squad, 3rd seat, under Soifon," Yamamoto paused for a moment before continuing. "You say you had unmatched sword skills. If so I believe it would be a waste of your talent to put you through all four years at the academy. Instead I will put you in with the graduating class, as long as you get someone to help you with your Kido. If you cannot find someone, I will organise an aid for you. I am sure that your kenjutsu skills can be translated into zanjutsu, the Art of the Zanpakutou. Sarutobi will show you your mother, and from there he will take you to the Academy. Do any of you disagree?" Yamamoto asked, surveying his captains, none objected, all had their eyes trained on Naruto.

"Thanks ojii-san," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head, causing everyone to gasp at what he had called the Chief.

Yamamoto stayed silent for a moment before busting out laughing, "Haha! You are certainly an interesting young man Naruto, it will be interesting to see what you amount to. Know that expectations for you are high here, do not disappoint us," Yamamoto said smiling.

_You bet I won't! I'm gonna make sure everyone in this place knows the name Namikaze Naruto by the time I'm finished with them! _Naruto thought, clenching his fist in determination.

* * *

Probably a pretty boring chapter, but I kinda liked the reactions the captains had!

Please Review!

Remember to vote for harem or not, and bankai ideas pleasssseeeee!

**Satansrogue**


	4. Attention

Yo guys!

This is my latest chapter, it took a while, but it's the longest yet, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 4

-FLASHBACK-

"_Ohaya, Minna-san, is Kushina-san around?" Sarutobi asked, waving to a black haired Shinigami woman._

"_Ah, Sarutobi-sama," Minna said, inclining her head, "Kushina-sama is out back, I'll go get her, should I tell her why you want her?" Sarutobi shook his, head, his eyes following Minna's retreating figure. _

_Naruto was in a whirlwind of emotions. After so many years e would finally set eyes on his mother, a woman he had only ever seen in photo albums. What would she think of him? Would she be happy to see him? He was filled with trepidation. He fidgeted with his fingers, and smoothed out his clothes absent-mindedly, full of apprehension. He leant back on the wall, waiting for her._

_The door opened slowly, and Minna walked out, after a moment some body followed. Time seemed to slow down for Naruto, as he looked at the entering figure. She was quite a bit shorter than him, but she had an almost regal air of command about her. Her eyes were green, and her hair flaming red. She saw Sarutobi first, and graced him with a smile, which he returned._

"_It's a long time since you've visited Sarutobi-san? I hope you haven't been getting into too much trouble," she said, smiling, "So, is there any particular reason you called for me?"_

"_To the point as always, huh, Kushina? I think you might want to hear what I'm about to tell you, though," Sarutobi said. "Kushina, I'd like you to meet somebody very special, his name is Namikaze Naruto," Sarutobi said, gesturing to where Naruto stood, leaning against the wall._

_Kushina swivelled around, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw Naruto, who just stared at her, for once unable to speak. Kushina's eyes began to water, as they took in one another's appearances. Suddenly she held out her arms, welcoming Naruto. Naruto closed the distance between them and swept her up in his arms .They both found themselves laughing and crying all at once. _

END FLASHBACK

The two of them had spent hours talking to one another, Kushina constantly asking about Naruto's life, at some points she was in tears, and others her hands were fisted tightly in anger, whereas at some points she smiled almost serenely, such as when Naruto told her of his engagement to Hinata.

Now Naruto found himself enrolled in the academy, he had his dorm number written on a piece of paper, and he looked around, trying to locate the room. Finally he found it, Block C room 48. He pushed the handle down, checking to see if he had to use the key or not, and the door opened. He walked in slightly, and saw a boy on one of the bunks, he lay there, earphones plugged in, and a book in hand, he didn't even notice Naruto come in. He had Red hair, tied back in a ponytail, his eyebrows were what caught Naruto's attention, they were just plain weird.

Naruto carefully approached him, not wanting to surprise him. The boy suddenly jumped up on his bed and yanked his earphones out of his ears and pointed at Naruto.

"What are you doing in my dorm?" He yelled, accusingly.

"Wo, wo! Calm down there! I'm your new dorm mate," Naruto said, waving his arms in defence. Naruto stuck out his right hand to the boy, "Names Namikaze Naruto, nice to meet you."

The boy smirked at him, shaking his hand, "Renji Abarai, nice to meet you too. So which year did they bump you up from, I haven't seen you around campus."

"I didn't get bumped up, that Yamamoto dude just sent me here," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

"You met Yamamoto-sama? Captain in Chief of Godei 13?" Renji said, incredulously. "And he sent you to the final academy year. You must have done something to impress him."

"Nah, not really, I guess he just knows talent when he sees it," Naruto said, smirking.

Renji snorted, "Modest ain't ya? Anyway, it's time to get ready for class; I'll show you some of my friends." Renji got up off the bed and walked out, closely followed by Naruto.

Naruto found himself outside, standing next to Renji as he introduced him to some of his friends, "This is Kira, that's Hinamori, Rangiku and this is Rukia." Naruto waved at them all, and they looked at him in interest.

"Forget about introducing us to him, tell us who the hottie is Renji," Rangiku said, her eyes trailing down Naruto's figure.

"Hey I'm Namikaze Naruto, I'm Renji's new dorm mate," he said.

"Are you a prodigy or something, get bumped up from a lower year?" Kira asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Actually I've never been to the academy before. I only arrived in Soul Society a few hours ago," Naruto said, they all looked surprised to hear this. It was almost unheard of for someone to get bumped up to graduating class with no Shinigami experience at all.

"This is Kido class, Naruto," Renji said.

"Ahh, that's the one. Yamamoto said I had to get someone to help me out with it, cause I'm behind," Naruto said.

"Well if you need someone to help you, then you're looking for Rukia, she's top of the class in Kido," Naruto said, pointing at the girl.

"Neh, Rukia-chan, think you could help me out?" Naruto said. Rukia was blushing from the praise, but she nodded.

"Sure Naruto, I'll help you out during lunch breaks, and after lesson times if you want." Naruto nodded in appreciation.

The bell went, and the class filed in, taking their seats in the room. There were targets up against the wall, and cushions to sit on. Naruto sat next to Renji and Rangiku. The professor was an elderly man, by the name of Shirangu.

"Today we will be practicing a new Kido Spell, it will be a Hado spell this time. Allow me to demonstrate, **Hado #31, Shot of Red Fire**," Shirangu thrust out a hand, palm facing the target. A large red ball on energy ejected from his hand, and in a flash it struck the target, disintegrating it instantly. "To do this Hado technique you will need precise control over your reiatsu, you will need to project your reiatsu outwards, imagine it in your mind before you do it. I will call you up three at a time to demonstrate. Renji, Izumo and Laim, you're up first."

The class went up in batches, attempting to perform the Hado. Most failed, their shot being too small, and some completely missed the target, a few produced nothing. However, Rukia and Hinamori's were perfect, destroying the target, just as Shirangu had shown them. "Rangiku, Miko and... ahh, the new addition... Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto-san, I understand you have no experience in this sort of thing, just give it an attempt." Naruto nodded, getting to his feet, feeling all eyes in the class on him, he walked to the front.

"Hado #31, Shot of Red Fire," he called out, imitating Shirangu. He pulled a little reiatsu from behind his barriers. Naruto thrust out his palm, and concentrated his reiatsu into his hand, imagining it being ejected outwards as Shirangu had said. His hand glowed a bright red before a huge ball of energy, almost three times the size of Shirangu original, it struck the target, vaporising it.

"Well, that's one way of doing it," Shirangu said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Very well done, it is clear you have a large reiatsu capacity, but have some trouble controlling it. You will come to see me at the end of the day, and I will teach you some control exercises."

"Hai sensei," Naruto said, sitting back down. He had to go through the whole control process again, he just hoped it would not take as long as it had for chakra.

"Class dismissed," Shirangu called out, and the class shuffled out of the room.

"Nice one Naruto," Kira said, "definitely better than Renji anyway. Renji, you should be ashamed, Naruto's already better than you at Kido on his first try." Kira teased, causing Renji to shake his fist at him in anger.

"Hey! That's not fair! You know Kido is my worst subject. Besides you don't need Kido, when you're the best at Zanjutsu in the class, like me, so there," Renji said, sticking his tongue out childishly.

"So, you're the best at Zanjutsu, huh? Well it will be interesting to see how Zanjutsu differs from my own style," Naruto said.

"What, you used to fight with a sword when you were alive, Naruto-kun?" Rangiku asked. Naruto nodded. "You're so cool! I bet you could give Renji a run for his money," Rangiku said, standing close to Naruto, making him blush slightly at the praise. After all these years, Naruto still didn't know how to handle praise from a beautiful woman.

* * *

The Zanjutsu sensei was a middle-aged man, by the name of Janza. He was tall and well built, with a number of battle scars adorning his face. "Today I will be teaching you the **Reversal Technique**," he said, gruffly. "The Reversal Technique is to be used when the opponent is attacking you, and you are on the defensive. It will only work against those who are not overly experienced in Zanjutsu. It allows you to use surprise to your advantage, and turn the tables to put you in an offensive position. I need a volunteer? Nobody?" Nobody put their hands up; all of the students knew that Janza's demonstrations were generally extremely painful. "There must be one brave person among you," he said.

Naruto stood up, "I'll be your volunteer." The class looked at him, pitying him for what was about to come, but at the same time, glad it was not to be them.

"Ahh, the new kid! Well it seems as if at least you have some backbone, unlike the rest of these cowards. Come face me, show me what you've got," he said, throwing Naruto a wooden long sword. Naruto caught it deftly in his right arm, and swung it experimentally, before settling into a stance, Janza doing the same. "What stance is this, child?" Janza asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

Naruto smirked with confidence, "The **Wind Dragon Dance**, be prepared." The aid blew his whistle, and Naruto and Janza circled one another. Suddenly Naruto leapt forward, and struck to Janza's right, and was blocked. The two exchanged blows in a frenzy, Naruto enjoying himself thoroughly.

He decided to go for it, and moved for one kata to another, linking forms of the Wind Dragon Dance together, to make an impressive offensive barrage, and Janza found himself hard pressed to defend. Janza saw the opportunity, and went for the Reversal Technique, he lifted Naruto's wooden sword up slightly, and used his open palm, to push Naruto backwards, however Naruto saw this coming, and dodged to the left, spinning slightly, taking his sword with him, and turning to continue his offensive.

After a few moments the two jumped backwards, facing one another, Naruto grinned as Janza smiled back, panting slightly.

"You have great talent, but I did not know you had used Zanjutsu before," Janza said.

Naruto smirked, "I have not, but in life I was considered a master of blades, I have used many types of sword, but never a Zanpakutou, or a Zanbatou." Janza raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I think it's time to take this up a level, I hope you can keep up," Naruto said, as he pulled some reiatsu out of his gravity seals. He grinned at Janza for a moment before phasing out of existence, only to appear behind Janza a moment later. He struck, giving Janza a second to block, he changed style to the **Midnight Dragon **and struck twice more, before once again disappearing and this time reappearing to the side of Janza, his wooden sword pressed against his throat, a satisfied smile on his face.

Janza was shocked. Just who was this kid? He dropped his wooden sword carefully, before raising his arms in defeat. "You are very talented Naruto-san. Your other sword skills have translated very well into Zanjutsu. I could tell that you were even holding back in our spar. From now on, you will visit the library in my lessons, and read up on new sword stances, dances and forms, or practice other things; I would only be holding you back by keeping you here. You will do this until this class is until we begin real sword practice, with a Zanpakutou, that will be slightly different than what we did just now," Janza said wryly. Naruto grinned at the praise, inclining his head in return.

The rest of the class were shocked at the sequence of events. The way Naruto fought had been unbelievable to them; it was like an elegant and beautiful dance, yet deadly at the same time. It was almost like he was untouchable, constantly defending and attacking all at once! Janza had even admitted Naruto was better than him, and had said the blonde was holding back! Rangiku began whistling and cheering, and the rest of the class was struck out of its stupor and also began to clap, causing Naruto to face them in slight shock, and give a slight bow, flashing them a foxy grin.

"In all my years, I have never seen that form. Is it a secret dance?" Janza asked.

"Nope. It's one of my own creations; I based it on the wind. Powerful, strong, deadly, quick and untouchable. It's pure offence, powered by lightning fast strikes, giving the opponent no time to strike against you."

"Very nice. I know you might be a bit protective of your own personal dance, but I hope you will add it to our library, so that others may also learn from it, I might even be interested in it myself," Janza said, his eyes twinkling at the prospect.

"I don't think I'll put this dance in the library, but perhaps one of my others," Naruto said. "Here's your sword, sensei," he said, handing over the wooden article.

"Well, didn't get to show you the reversal technique, but you did get an example of first class swordsmanship from Naruto," he said. "I hope you understand now why you must concentrate so much on technique. Naruto's technique was so good and his speed so great, that it made him difficult to match. Consider this until your next lesson, dismissed."

The class walked out, chatting loudly, the main topic of conversation being Naruto.

"Naruto that was awesome!" Kira said, walking up beside him.

"I s'pose," Naruto said, brushing the compliment off.

"How did you get so good, Naruto-kun?" Hinamori asked.

"A lot of practice when I was alive," Naruto said wryly.

"It makes me wonder what your profession was," Renji said, curiosity evident in the tone of his voice. "So what did you do while you were alive?"

"I was a kick-ass shinobi!" Naruto said, grinning proudly.

"Shinobi, as in ninja? How can that be a profession?" Rukia asked.

"Well, I come from the Elemental Countries, and each country has Hidden Villages. Hidden Villages are the military backbone of the country, and are made up of Ninja. As shinobi we were given missions suitable for our rank ranging from D-Rank to S-Rank. The Shinobi ranks are Genin, Chunin, Jounin, Special Jounin, Sannin, this was a rank solely for my village, and Kage. Kages were the titles given to the strongest shinobi in each of the five most powerful Hidden Villages, they ruled the Village and controlled its military," Naruto paused for breath, allowing them to take in what he was saying. "I came from the Hidden Village amongst the Leaves, Konohagakure."

"So what kind of stuff could you do when you were alive?" Renji asked.

"Well when I was alive I had access to my chakra, life energy. It allowed me to do all kinds of cool stuff. I could do elemental jutsu, make clones, and move at high speeds, all sorts of things! Now I'm dead, I can't do any of that stuff, but luckily I've still got my Kenjutsu, and my speed, which were naturally trained, and not powered by chakra. I just hope this reiatsu stuff can pay up for my loss of chakra."

"So what rank were you Naruto?" Rangiku said.

"Well, before I died I was the Hokage, the youngest one in history actually," Naruto boasted slightly.

"Oh my god! You're so cool!" Rangiku said, binding onto his arm, like some rabid fan girl.

"So, what have we got next?" Naruto asked.

"Well we have lunch break now, and after that Hand to Hand Combat Sessions.

Naruto got Rukia to help teach him Kido during lunch. She taught him the method of a few simple ones, as well as the words, and said he could try them out once he had better reiatsu control. During the lunch break, Naruto could see a number of people staring at their group, or more precisely, at him.

* * *

It was towards the end of lunch break, when they were waiting outside the Hand to Hand Combat Classroom, that five of the other students approached him. They were quite tall and bulky, and their expressions were of confidence. Renji informed him that they were from the other graduating class.

"So you're the new kid, huh?" One of them asked. Naruto ignored him, continuing to chat animatedly with his friends. The boy was frustrated at being ignored, "Hey look at me when I'm talking to you," he growled.

"Sorry I don't speak ape," Naruto said coolly, before turning back to Rangiku, who was watching the proceedings, slightly afraid for her friend.

"Hey, do you know who I am? I'm an Omaeda. I know you're new around here, so I'll explain it to you. I come from the Omaeda Clan, one of the Four Noble Clans. So when I talk to you, you answer. Got it?" Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously. "Know your place, new boy, or you might find things here difficult."

"Yeah, new boy," one of the boy's goons echoed.

"You got it?" The Omaeda said, sure Naruto would comply. "Are you thick or something? How about I enforce the chain of command then!" He yelled, smacking Naruto in the face, sending him to the ground. His friends got to their feet to help him.

"No, stay out of this," Naruto said, waving them back, before getting to his feet. "So you think your name means you got what it takes?" Naruto said, smirking. "I'm sure I could teach you a thing or two, Naruto said, letting down his reiatsu barriers, and letting some of his sprit energy seep out, it formed around him in a golden aura. He concentrated it towards the boys, so no one else would get affected. They fell to their knees, unable to take the spirit pressure. A crowd had gathered, and they looked on in awe at the sheer amount of reiatsu in the air. Even if it wasn't intended for them, they were still finding it difficult to breathe.

"You think your family name means anything to me? Do you really think any opponent you fight is gonna care you're an Omaeda?" Naruto sneered. "Your name brings you nothing but false ideals and an incorrect way of thinking. If anything your name is a barrier in the way of your achieving anything. All it took was a bit of reiatsu, and you're on your knees. Is that all you got? Frankly... I'm disappointed. I guess if I want to get a spar out of you guys, I'm going to have to ease up a bit," Naruto pulled back some of his reiatsu, reducing his aura, and making it a faint glow around his body. He gave them a moment to regain their breath and get to their feet.

The Omaeda got to his feet first, and quickly covered his fear with a sneer, "You think your such a big shot because you got a little reiatsu. Talent less nobodies like you have no place in the Academy or in Godei 13! I'll make you regret those words you just spoke." By now, his goons had also recovered, and they charged at Naruto, intent on repaying him for their humiliation.

They came at Naruto from different angles, the Omaeda standing back for a moment, grinning, as his lackeys advanced. Naruto settled into a defensive stance, and smirked slightly, as he stuck two fingers forward, and beckoned to the thugs. Two came at once to start, closely followed by the other two. Naruto blacked all blows, using every limb he had, to evade dodge and block. He found himself pressed against the wall. He pedalled backwards, defending himself, before flipping, and changing direction in mid-air, so that, for just a moment it looked as if he were squatted against the wall. He used his legs to propel himself forward, and landed a kick on the head of one of the thugs, sending him spiralling backwards. The Omaeda, seeing this, growled, and moved forward to meet Naruto, his goons by his side.

They approached Naruto, and he settled in his **Sun Dance** stance, and pulled a little reiatsu from his gravity seals. Grinning madly at them for a moment, Naruto disappeared, reappearing behind them in a moment, much to the awe of the crowd who had gathered. He struck one of the goons on the neck, knocking him out, before pivoting on his heel and raising a leg to block a kick from the Omaeda. He brought his other leg up, so that he was no longer attached to the ground, and closed of the Omaeda's leg between his two, in a vice-like manner, before turning his body in mid-air, sending his opponent to the floor. The remaining goon saw the opportunity and attempted a cheap shot, as Naruto's back was turned to him, and he made a connection with Naruto, causing the blonde to fall to his knees. The goon and the Omaeda Naruto had pushed back before got to their feet, and approached him, sneering at his more prone form. The Omaeda lifted his leg, and kicked Naruto in the ribs, and Naruto winced, before looking up to him, no longer smiling.

"Big mistake," Naruto growled, pulling a bit more reiatsu from his reiatsu seals, he disappeared completely. His opponents felt themselves beaten down by a seemingly invisible force, as they were beaten down all at once. This was Naruto's **Wraith Style**, where he would go so fast, that his opponents could not see or fight back against him. His opponents were on their knees, when Naruto reappeared before them, looking down at them.

"Don't approach me like that again, next time I won't be so kind," Naruto stated, before turning his back on them and walking towards Renji, who whistled in appreciation at the display.

"Pretty damn good! You're amazing at everything except Kido huh? You gotta teach me how to fight like that!" Renji said enthusiastically, and Naruto nodded. All his other friends approached and congratulated him.

Suddenly somebody began to clap slowly, and all eyes turned towards them, and they all saw Nishiyama, the Hand to Hand Combat instructor, looking towards Naruto.

"Very good display, Namikaze-san! I believe you are very skilled in this art! I'd say you were only second to Yoruichi-taichou and Soifon-fukutaichou, and that is because of their flash techniques," Nishiyama said.

Naruto smirked, "Well you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Well I believe, with my help, you could become the best Hand to Hand Combat fighter in Soul Society. You just need to be more refined, and do not let your emotions control you in battle. I will teach you these things in my lessons, we'll make a great Shinigami of you yet my boy!"

Naruto grinned, _Watch out world Namikaze Naruto, No. 1 Shinobi, come Shinigami, is coming in with a BANG!_

_

* * *

_

I hope you enjoyed that.

Remember I'm lookin for Bankai ideas, and do you want a harem or not! NaruHina is definite!

I'll try to update soon!

**Satansrogue**


	5. Soul Slayer Revealed

Yo, sorry for long wait, but you'll be happy to know that Naruto gets his Zanpakutou's now! Yay!

I'm so excited!

On with the fic!

**Chapter 5**

Naruto woke up with a start, as he heard some movement in the room

Naruto woke up with a start, as he heard some movement in the room. He looked around and saw the cause of the sound. A still snoring Renji lay on the floor.

Naruto glared down at the other boy, "Damn, eyebrow less freak! Falling off his bed again! Grrr!" Naruto got off the bed and slipped on a pair off cargo pants and a plain shirt. He looked out of the window to see the first rays of sunshine flashing through. The sun was just appearing over the horizon, and there were a few students in the courtyard, gathered around the central fountain. Some were practicing with wooden swords, others were chanting the words for Kido to themselves, and many were just chatting. Smirking to himself, he climbed out of the window, so that he stood on the ledge, and without a second thought he threw himself off, taking a nosedive for the ground below. As he approached the ground he turned himself in the air, so that he landed on the ground in a catlike manner, right in front of the fountain. The students were all now looking at him appreciatively after the feat.

Ever since the fight with the Omaeda, Naruto was becoming a popular figurehead in the school. He had peaked the interest of more than one girl, and everyone respected him. Suddenly he felt someone clutching his arm. He looked around to see Rangiku smiling at him.

"That was so cool Naruto-kun! Maybe you could teach me how to do that, in some private lessons?!"

Naruto grinned at the vivacious redhead. "Sorry Rangiku, but my timetable's a bit full up with all this Kido practice and whatnot." Rangiku looked down at the ground and began to sniff, making Naruto feel bad, even though he knew she was just pretending.

"Konichiwa, Naruto-kun." Naruto turned around to see Hinamori and Kira, who just waved at him nonchalantly. After a few moments they found themselves in front of one of the dojos for their Zanjutsu lesson. Rukia and Renji arrived too.

"Hmph, least you had a good sleep," Naruto said, glaring at Renji. "You fell of your bed again! I woke up, and couldn't get back to sleep!"

Renji scratched the back of his head, grinning stupidly, "Sorry Naruto, I'll try to sleep as close to the wall as possible from now on."

"That's enough of the chatter you lot!" The class looked around to see Janza standing tall at the top of the steps. "Get inside, you might like what I've got planned for you today. Namikaze, you'll have to be part of this lesson too." Naruto raised an eyebrow, he had never actually participated in a Zanjutsu lesson yet, since his first lesson, where he had defeated Janza.

The class filed in, and each sat on one of the cushions, as Janza took his place at the front.

"You will be getting your Zanpakutous today. First, I will inform you of the method in which they are made," the class all listened keenly, Naruto included. Ever since they had entered the academy, they had always been impatient to get a Zanpakutou, now the time to get one was finally here. "Each of you will receive one of these," Janza said, holding up a small cylinder of black metal. "This is Soul Metal; it is the perfect medium through which to channel your reiatsu. You will grab this cylinder in your right hand, and hold it out horizontally in front of you. You will then chant the incantation, which I will say now. Listen carefully, for I will only say it once.

_The flame which fades, rekindles once more, burning brighter than before. The ashes may blow in the wind, as through this core, my own fire burns. The energy which in habits my very heart, flows through, to this, my medium. Build for me, a tool, a weapon of war. To defeat mine enemies, to protect mine own, to reap the field fallow, once more._

You will then grasp the metal with both hands and raise it above your head, what happens next, we shall see."

As soon as Janza stopped speaking, excited chatter broke out, but he stopped it short with a sharp rap of his own Zanpakutou on the table.

"I'll call you up one by one, to perform the ritual. Okame Gairo!"

Gairo walked up to the front, looking extremely nervous. He was given a cylinder of Soul Metal, and recited the chant, although stuttering at some points. By the end of it he held a medium sized Zanpakutou. He held it in his hand, and examined it, swinging it experimentally, before grinning, and running back to his seat.

One by one, all of the students went up. Janza did not seem to be calling names in any order, but left Naruto for last. Up until Naruto, Renji's Zanpakutou had been the largest.

"Namikaze Naruto!" Janza called out, his eyes flashing as his eyes looked towards Naruto expectantly. The class quietened down in anticipation. Naruto got up and made his way to the front, and grasped a cylinder, given to him by Janza. He held it out to him, and began to speak. However, he did not chant the same incantation that Janza had told him to, the words he spoke were different:

_The blade of my heart is forged anew, as my resolve is set, my purpose decided. I fight to protect, and defeat my enemies. The eternal flame within me rages fiercer than ever before, it blazes fierce, yet now, it is controlled. As the dragon rises from its slumber, the furious winds calm, once more tamed by the beast's might. Basked in light, born from darkness, you shall rise, birthed from within me!_

Naruto thrust his hands into the air, grabbing onto the cylinder. A brilliant gold glow encapsulated him, as his awed classmates averted their eyes from the breathtaking, yet blinding sight. As the light faded, the class looked back, straining to see Naruto.

Naruto stood, panting heavily, as winds billowed around him, causing his hair to blow upwards. His eyes flashed a deep sapphire. A gold glow was present around Naruto, and he stood, his feet wide apart, as he held two Zanpakutous in his hand. The first, he held in his left hand, and it had a brilliant red glow around it. The other, he held in his right, and this one had a pure white glow about it. Naruto had limited his reiatsu, to make the size of each one manageable, so that they each stood almost as big as Renji's.

Slowly the class began to clap and cheer, as Naruto grinned.

"_Namikaze Naruto, you are definitely interesting. You are the third ever Shinigami to have dual Zanpakutous, and both of the other two are captains, it seems as if great things do await you. Yours will be an interesting tale, and hopefully, I will be here to see how events unfold_," Janza thought, his eyes twinkling at the sight before him.

Naruto fell to his knees, having exhausted his body. Janza quickly got Renji and Kira to go help him, and take him to the infirmary. Once they were out of the classroom, Renji started chattering excitedly.

"I can't believe you got dual Zanpakutous! And, what was all that crap you were spouting instead of the ritual?"

Naruto laughed weakly, "I don't really no where all that junk came from, I don't even really remember what I said. I'm probably going nuts or something."

Kira lifted an eyebrow, "Whatever you said, Naruto-san, it definitely worked."

By lunch time, the fact that Naruto had got dual Zanpakutous had become the main topic of conversation in the Academy; it was even beginning to leak out into Godei 13. Students and teachers alike were walking past Naruto, trying to get a glimpse of the two large blades which rested on his back. Some had even approached Naruto, and asked to see his Soul Slayers. Naruto had not refused yet, and would draw the blades and flourish them for the crowds around him at times. If Naruto had been desirable to the female population before, it was now true a hundred times over. However, each and every time he was asked out, he said no, letting the girl down gently, but asserting himself too.

His only romantic thoughts seemed to lie with Hinata, and he realised that he was already missing her terribly. Although he felt terrible for doing so, he just wished she would hurry up and die, so that they could be reunited.

Naruto and his friends found themselves in Hand to Hand Combat after their lunch break.

"Since I have taught all of you the Open Palm stances of the **Death Dance**, you will be putting them into practice," Nishiyama said. "I will be pairing you off, and you will spar, do not hold back on openings, it will help your opponent learn the weaknesses of their style." Nishiyama paired the class off, and, as usual, he and Naruto sparred on the central mat, as they had done every lesson thus far. As of yet, neither had won a spar. Naruto definitely outclassed Nishiyama in terms of speed and strength; however the teachers experience and technique allowed him to last a whole lesson, with out getting thrown once.

Naruto settled into the **Dragon Fist **stance and Nishiyama into the **Death Dance **stance. Naruto smirked, pulling out a little reiatsu from his gravity seals, and phasing out of existence, appearing behind his sensei. He struck out with his right foot, but Nishiyama right hand came around to block the blow.

"Hmph, pathetic. Maybe I was wrong to say you had any talent, a five year old could hit harder!" Nishiyama taunted.

Naruto coloured slightly at the insult, but reminded himself that this was only an attempt to get a ruse out of him, to make him fight recklessly. He maintained a calm composure, as he smirked at Nishiyama, "Well, you ain't seen nothing yet old man!" Phasing out of existence once more, he appeared to Nishiyama side, aiming a roundhouse kick at his lower body, the old man leapt into the air, and came down to kick Naruto on his head. Naruto grabbed Nishiyama's ankles and threw him over his head. The old man went flying backwards, before Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, and kicked him skywards, jumping up to clash with the old man in a full blown taijutsu battle.

The two were blurs, flashing across the dojo, as some of the students looked up to see them battling. Naruto appeared in front of Nishiyama, swinging a punch at his head, which was deftly blocked. Suddenly, Naruto switched form, and was using the **Lion's Goken Fist**, to pound Nishiyama down, breaking his opponents defence down, with ruthless blows. Not letting up at all, Naruto switched to the **Eternal Dance **form, and disappeared, using his devastating speed to find openings in Nishiyama's defence.

Nishiyama found himself pushed backwards, and blows were now getting through his defence, quickly he changed form to the **Vengeance Fist**, trying to combat with his own offence. The two caught each others fist at the same time, each one struggling for dominance, as Naruto used his strength to push Nishiyama into the ground. Nishiyama found himself about to lose, but quickly countered with the **Backwards Reversal Technique**, flipping his legs around Naruto, so that the blonde was now the one heading fort he ground. Naruto freed his hands from Nishiyama's grip, and landed in a handstand, before springing back to hit Nishiyama in the face, full force, sending the old man hurtling to the floor.

Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind him, catching him before he struck the floor.

"I think that's one win to me, don't you?" Naruto asked, grinning madly, as he set his sensei back down.

"Hmm, you have definitely improved much, now that you know how to keep your emotions in check, and how to use technique to your advantage. Well done Naruto, it seems as if you are improving by the day!"

Nishiyama turned to the class, who had stopped sparring long ago to watch their fight.

"Well, I have one more announcement to make! Godei 13 ahs organised your first outdoor practical excursion, you will be going out into the real world, and fighting a set of animated virtual hollow, your performance is to be recorded. It will be a week today, and remember, it will be the main decider as to whether or not you will be graduating from the academy this year. Dismissed!"

The class broke into excited chatter. Naruto grinned in anticipation, glancing at his swords. _I guess it's time to see what these babie__s can do!_

I hope you liekd that one, next chappies gonna be major action, bange bange! Yeehaw!

Carry on voting for harem or naruhina only pls!

**Satansrogue**


	6. Never Look Back

Yo, sorry for the wait, for this new chappy.

But... I can officially tell you, it is the longest chapter I have ever wrote, in any of my fanfics!

Anyway, I have 2 give a special mention to a friend, Ka Fatty, for a bit of help in this chapter, especially with some of the Naruto stuff.

Hope you enjoy! And don't 4get to review, or I might just stop writing (hehehehe)

Here's Chapter 6!

**Chapter 6**

Naruto sat alone in his dorm room

Naruto sat alone in his dorm room. Carefully he wrapped his fists in white bandages, before slipping on a pair of black fingerless gloves. He pulled on a sky blue cloak and strapped his two Zanpakutous across his back. He stood up to his feet and gazed out of the window. Earlier that day, they had been told that they had their practical examination for the academy graduation would be later that day. Renji and the others had already left for the designated meeting point, as Naruto had taken a little longer to wake up.

Naruto opened the window, before reaching for the ledge and hoisting himself up on it. He jumped up so that he could reach the edge of the roof and climbed up onto it. He took a moment to gaze out, taking in the view before him. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted blood red. A few of the taller buildings as well as the Sokyokou Cliff sculpted a beautiful image for his eyes.

Shaking himself out of his daze, he set out, jumping from roof to roof, landing and leaping with a panther-like grace. He stopped on the edge of one of the roofs, and peered down surveying the sight below him. Thirty of his fellow year mates stood bunched in groups, all chattering excitedly about the impending exam. Naruto threw himself of the roof, and quickly pulled some reiatsu out of his gravity seals, causing him to glide down to the ground, caught by the wind, landing in the midst of his fellow students. Renji and the others strolled over to the blonde.

"Showing of with your flashy entrances as usual, eh Naruto?" Renji said, grinning

"You know me well enough, besides, no need to be jealous, just because you can't do it," Naruto said smirking.

"I can too. Watch! From now on, my entrances will be the best," Renji said, his fist shaking in front of Naruto's face, rising up to the challenge.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto shot back.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the students, as a Shinigami from Godei 13 approached the group. From the 69 tattoo on his face, Naruto could tell this was Hisagi Shuhei, Lieutenant of the 9th division. Flanking him was the rest of the 9th division. The group of Shinigami halted a few meters away from the group, Hisagi at their head.

"Every single one of you gathered here, have been deemed worthy to take this exam by your academy instructors. But... of the 30 gathered here today only around 5 are likely to pass," he stated calmly, his arms folded across his chest. Gesturing behind him, he pointed to a blue opening in a doorframe. ""You will enter this Transposition Gate and be teleported to an enclosed area in the real world. You will enter three at a time, in the three man cells you were designated earlier today. Throughout the exam you will work and remain in these cells," he explained. Naruto caught Renji's and Rukia's eyes, and they grinned at one another. They had been designated one another as teammates.

"The rest of the squad and I will be positioned at intervals within the area and bordering the area. We will be analyzing your skills and teamwork, we will not get involved. You will be fighting virtual hollow, but even if they're only virtual, they can still pack a punch, so watch out. Do your best. Now line up in your three man cells! Get to it sharpish!"

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, Naruto, Rukia and Renji found themselves on a roof, collaborating over their cell's formation.

"Rukia, I think you should take the back, because your Kido skills make you a powerful long range fighter, and your control will let you detect hollow we can't see quickly. Renji, you should take the front, because your Zanjutsu's your strongest skill, and your Kido clearly sucks. I'll take the middle, and cover our sides. Everyone agree with that?"

"Hai!" Renji and Rukia both said, nodding in unison.

Suddenly thunder sounded and lightning followed momentarily afterwards. The skies suddenly darkened above them.

"Hmph, looks like the virtual hollow are here, but I think they went a bit too far with the lightning effect," Naruto said, unsheathing his Zanpakutous from his back, as he gazed up to see hundreds of hollow in the sky above the enclosed area. Renji and Rukia followed his actions, as they drew their blades too.

The first of the hollows landed on the roof in front of them. It was a large reptilian beast with wings on its sides. Renji bounded forward to meet it. They clashed as Renji swung his Zanpakutou at its side, feigning to the right before pivoting on his heel and striking its left flank. The creature used one its hardened claws to protect itself from the onslaught, before leaping up into the air, and thrusting its hand out towards Renji. Its palm began to glow red, as Renji's eyes widened in realization of what it was attempting to do. "Shit! Cero!" He called out, remembering that this was the strongest attack in the average hollows arsenal.

"White Lightning!"

"Shot of Red Fire!"

Renji heard from behind him at the same time. The two techniques crashed into the hollow, causing it to disintegrate instantly. He turned around and faced a grinning Naruto and Rukia, Rukia with a finger pointing outwards, and Naruto with his palm thrust out. They did not have time to congratulate one another, as almost a dozen more hollow landed on the roof, surrounding their smaller group.

Naruto reacted quickly, yelling out the first Hado that came to mind, "Hado No. 1 Thrust!" Pointing one of Zanpakutous at one of the hollows, it was propelled backwards. Naruto bounded forward to press home his advantage. He swung his first Zanpakutou in a horizontal slash, whilst bringing the other one to slice at the beast's right flank. The hollow blocked the first blow, but was sliced in two by the second.

A second hollow had circled behind Naruto by this time, and he pivoted on his heel and swung both of his Zanpakutous at its midriff. The hollow beat its large wings and propelled itself into the air to avoid the assault, Naruto bounded up to meet it. They clashed in the air, and Naruto noticed that this one was stronger than the other. Gritting his teeth, he whispered out, "Two Sword Style: Twin Rising Dragons Form!" Pulling some reiatsu out of his gravity seals, the blonde became a whirlwind of destruction as he cut down four of the hollows, just as Renji and Rukia finished a couple more. There was only one hollow left, and the three academy students moved to surround the creature.

Suddenly the ground began to shake, and a huge cracking sound was heard from above. They looked upwards to see a huge crack in the sky, which seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Hundreds of hollow flooded in through the crack. Suddenly, the virtual hollow which the three had surrounded disappeared, and they met each others eyes in shock.

"What's going on?" Rukia shouted out over the din. Naruto shrugged, but Renji tried to come up with an answer.

"It's probably just another attempt to frighten us with special effects," Renji stated confidently. Naruto wasn't so sure, but shrugged it off, as he pushed off the roof, and floated up to meet the new hollow. Sheathing the blade in his left hand, he formed a rasengan, and tore apart the first hollow he met with it, whilst swinging furiously with his Zanpakutou at a second. Pulling some reiatsu out of his gravity seals, he drew his other blade once more, before disappearing, and striking hollows from all sides with his Zanpakutous, leaving behind an afterimage at the point where he started. The only indication to his whereabouts was a sliver of his blonde hair as he moved from one place to another. The hollows found themselves cut down, their numbers going down quickly. Renji and Rukia were also fairing well, striking hollows on either side of them frantically, calling out Kido techniques every so often. Soon, the rest of the students in the area had floated up to join their battle.

Naruto found himself facing four hollows, and just as he was about to strike out at them, he heard a yell of, "Hado 73: Twin Lotus, Blue Fire Crash Down!" Two large concentrated beams of blue fire crashed into the hollows, incinerating them. As they disappeared, Naruto saw one of the students in his class, called Mosuke, standing there with a grin, panting slightly from the effort of the destructive spell.

"Nice one!" Naruto yelled out to him, grinning. Mosuke grinned back, waving to him. Naruto's eyes widened as a large black shape appeared behind Mosuke, and struck him. Mosuke was cleaved in two, as his decapitated body fell to the earth below, and Naruto felt his knees go weak as he was struck by the sudden demise of his comrade.

Naruto gasped in realisation. This was the reason for the sinking feel he had been feeling throughout this exercise. These hollow were real! He glanced around him, and saw several other students fall to the hollows. "I have to do something before more of these people die!" He whispered to himself.

Without giving it a moments thought, Naruto released all of his reiatsu. His whole body began to glow a blinding gold, as the whole area was enclosed in his aura for a moment. His aura retreated, returning back to him, but still encompassing the students and hollow around him in a basking glow. The students and hollow alike were so shocked that they paused from their battles, and looked over at the breathtaking sight for a moment. Naruto's hair was standing up, as his cloak billowed behind him, seemingly caught by powerful winds.

The hollows found themselves enticed by the huge amount of spirit energy, and, as a single body, they all rushed Naruto. Naruto looked around him; there were literally hundreds of hollow coming toward him. He realised he had no chance with these odds, but understood he had to hold them off until help arrived, hopefully in the form of Godei 13.

These thoughts in mind, Naruto gritted his teeth in determination. Settling into the **Wraith Style** stance, he pulled some reiatsu out of his gravity seals. He let out a roar of pure unadultered, primal fury, just before he phased out of existence, bounding forwards to meet his foes. _I'm sorry I couldn't help you Mosuke, but I promise you, not another one of our comrades will fall to these hollow under my watch!_

Naruto's eyes narrowed, as he clashed with the first line of hollow, ripping them apart with a set of clean, ruthless slashes. His blades seemed to be glittering phantoms in the night sky, as he struck down opponent after opponent without pause, leaving a beeline of destruction in his wake. The only trail he left was a wisp of gold and silver, as he moved, bringing his iron clad fist of fury down on the hollow.

Seeing his display of ferocity, the other students were struck out of their stupor, as they too joined the skirmish. With Naruto acting as a distraction with his reiatsu, the students were cutting the hollows down with practiced ease. Naruto had begun to slow down slightly, he had a multitude of cuts across his body, and his cloak was basically shredded, but still he went on, furiously pounding the hollows down.

Suddenly a sharp voice cut through the sound of battle, directly beneath Naruto. "Academy students, fall back! We'll take over form here!" Somewhere in the back recesses of his mind, Naruto recognised the voice to be Hisagi's, but blatantly ignoring the order, he continued to fight the hollow. A number of the students were pulling out, as Hisagi and six of his squad members were racing up to take control of the aerial battle.

Naruto felt someone grab his shoulder, and turned to see Renji and Rukia, both tired to the bone, with minor cuts and bruises decorating their features.

"Didn't you hear the man, Naruto? He said to fall back!" Renji shouted out over the din.

Naruto turned away from their expectant gazes, his own look, one of determination. His aura flared slightly as he settled into a stance. "You guys go," he said. "I've got some unfinished business to take care of."

"Naruto no baka! This isn't the time to act cool!" Rukia said.

Renji started to speak, "Ye-"

"Shup up!" Naruto yelled out, cutting Renji short. Both of his friends froze, they had never heard Naruto take such a sharp, angered and steely tone with them. "You think I'm trying to act cool?" He growled at them, his eyes flashing red. "Maybe you're willing to abandon your comrades on a battlefield, but I will never do so. Look around! There are a few hundred hollow here, are you so deranged that you actually think that seven Shinigami could actually hold up against these. These men are condemning themselves to death, to help us. They're sacrificing themselves," Naruto yelled out, accentuating each word with a blow of his sword against the oncoming hollow. Renji and Rukia flinched in realisation.

"Do you guys know what it feels like to lose a comrade on the battlefield? I know what that feels like. The hollow feeling inside, the pain, and the guilt knowing that maybe, just maybe, you could have saved that person," Naruto whispered, his eyes clouding over in pain, as he remembered. "I won't allow myself to feel that pain and despair again, and I will never abandon a comrade when he clearly needs my aid! That was the oath I took years ago, that I would carry on walking forwards, never turning back... the past is too painful to face. Part of that oath was that I would never back down. Even know, I will stand true to my pledge, I could never turn back, knowing these men were dying. You go, but nothing you say could ever make me back down," Naruto made out, furiously wiping at his eyes.

Rukia and Renji felt ashamed and sad. Ashamed that they had even considered questioning their friend like that, ashamed that they had ever thought of leaving comrades to die. But, above all, they felt sorrow and sadness that their friend had been through so much, that there was a part of his life that they could never share, and he would never share with them.

Without a backward glance, Naruto pushed forward to clash with the next wave of hollow, but before he did so, he said one word, "Leave." Naruto was a tornado of fury and pain, as he struck the hollows. He no longer gave a concern for his own body, intent on protecting his fellow students, and the Godei 13 Shinigami. He paved a path, which took him to the Shinigami, who had formed a tight pack formation, to protect themselves. They were receiving injuries quickly, but were dispensing hollow rapidly too, as they fought valiantly, hoping the students got away, and that back up would arrive soon.

* * *

The hollow were beginning to overpower the Shinigami, and break down their defence. A concentrated attack on their barricade, caused one of the Shinigami to lose concentration on his reiatsu, and fall from the air, cascading down towards the Earth below. His eyes widened in terror, as he frantically attempted to compose himself. The hollow roared in victory, as a few broke of from the main body, charging down the falling Shinigami.

Naruto reacted quickly, pulling all his reiatsu from his gravity seals. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the hollow, blocking their path to the Shinigami. With several well placed strokes, he dispensed of the hollow swiftly. He turned around quickly, panting from the strain on his body, to see the Shinigami falling, his shrieks of terror filling the night air. Naruto disappeared once more, and reappeared behind the Shinigami, catching him in his arms.

"You all right?" Naruto grunted out.

The Shinigami opened his eyes in wonder, obviously wondering how he could have been saved. Seeing the dishevelled blonde cushioning his fall, he began to thank him repeatedly. Naruto waved him off, before letting go of him, and allowed him a moment to regain his reiatsu control, before smirking at him. Without further ado, he disappeared, and reappeared in the thick of the battle once more.

Naruto was facing off the hollow with the Shinigami, after a moment or so, Hisagi noticed him. "What are you doing here?" The vice-captain roared out, as he continued battling furiously. "I told you to pull back!"

"Hmph, Namikaze Naruto listens to no one. Besides, you should be happy- I'm pretty much- saving your - butts here. So – why – don't you just - shut – up, and help!" He made out, as he slashed left and right blindly with his Zanpakutous. Shaking himself for a moment, he settled into a stance, before Roaring out "**Two Sword Style: Wild Redemption Form!**" Holding his blades out in front of him, forming an X-shape, he smirked at his foes, before unleashing his wrath upon them. This form was just as much about the reiatsu, as it was the blades. He had been taught by Janza, that one could use pure reiatsu as a weapon. Naruto had been sceptical of the idea at first, but had soon discovered its uses, and was now unleashing the full power of his spirit energy on the hollow. The form required specific reiatsu control, and relied on flowing, fast movements.

Naruto struck down hollow after hollow with vertical, horizontal and diagonal blows, and with each of his movements, if he concentrated enough, he could cause his golden aura to spike outwards and strike hollows. Naruto's reiatsu aura seemed to be doing just as much damage to the hollow as his own blades were doing.

The Shinigami looked on in a mixture of shock and awe, as Naruto tore into the hollow like a beast. None of them had ever seen a Zanjutsu style like this. However, Hisagi was reserved. He could see that Naruto was dispatching the most hollow of them all, yet he also saw the effect it was having on the blonde's body. Naruto was sweating profusely, and panting. His body and clothes were torn up with cuts, his bare chest showing.

Hisagi was taken out of his daze, as he heard a huge roar from behind him. Turning quickly, he saw a huge hollow, bringing its razor sharp claws down on him with a vengeance. _Oh shit! _He realised he had no chance of blocking in time, but still attempted to protect himself, by turning, knowing he as pretty much lost. He waited for what felt like a millennia, but still no pain came, he felt nothing. Opening his eyes, and turning, he saw the hollows claw was being blocked by a pair of Zanpakutou. Opening his eyes fully, he saw a red headed boy, and a black haired girl, defending him, both clad in Academy student attire.

"Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia at your service, fukutaichou!" The redhead roared out, as he pushed the hollow backward, and destroyed it with a slice at its midriff with his Zanpakutou. Hisagi was shocked. Why was everyone going against his orders today?!

"I'm not going to try to get you two to pull back, because if your anything like that blonde, you'll say no," Hisagi sighed. "But know that, when we get back to Seireitei, I will be punishing you for this blatant in subordination! Now, get into the tight pack formation now, maggots! Jump to it!" He yelled out, causing them to salute quickly before complying, both grinning madly.

* * *

Naruto could physically feel himself slowing down, he was sure he could not keep up any longer. He was beginning to sustain some major injuries, with his bruises and slashes decorating his body. There were only around 50 hollow left, and Naruto realised he had to hold on until they were killed.

Trying to think positively, he thought to himself, "Well the sooner these 50 are done, the sooner I can sleep, so I might as well finish this off quick!" With that thought, he engaged the hollow with renewed vigour.

Cutting down a line of hollow, Naruto found himself face to face with Renji and Rukia, he took a moment to smirk at them, as he said, "Doesn't it feel good that you followed the great Namikaze-sama's advice, and stuck around for the party." Naruto was panting heavily, as his arms sagged by his sides.

"Hmph, Namikaze-sama my ass, more like Naruto no baka!" Renji said, although he smiled.

Rukia, on the other hand, was taking in Naruto's appearance, "Naruto are you alright? You look like you could pass out any second!"

"I won't pass out till the fighting's done, I'll battle on, " he said, giving her a reassuring smirk, "Besides, if I left now, you'd all probably be run over in seconds by those hollow." Renji scowled, whilst Rukia smiled at him, shaking her head slightly.

"Hey! Look, those Shinigami are cleaning up without us! Like I'll let them take all the glory, after I did all the work!" Naruto growled out, as he bounded off to finish of the enemy hollows. Rukia looked around, and saw that there were only around ten hollow left.

"Hey Rukia lets go," Renji called out, beckoning to her, as he ran ahead. Rukia took a moment to reminisce, before taking off in his wake.

A few minutes later, the Shinigami and the three Academy students stood, all dead tired, but filled with the euphoria of victory.

"Know that's how you kick some butt!" Naruto made out, as he panted heavily, his exhaustion clear.

One of the Shinigami looked him over, clearly worried about his physical state. "Are you sure you're okay Namikaze? I'm a registered field medic, I could help you out if you need it," she said to him.

Naruto waved her off saying, "I've had worse than this and lived through it!" Taking a moment to gaze up at the sky he frowned, before pointing up, "What I'd like to know is why that crack in the sky hasn't closed up yet!"

Hisagi's eyes widened, in realisation. Looking up, he froze. "Oh shit!" He gasped, as the group looked towards him in confusion. "If the cracks still open, it could only mean one thing... Menos Grandes..." The Shinigami and Rukia gasped, whilst Renji and Naruto simply looked on in confusion.

"Ano, Hisagi-san," Renji said, "What's a Menos Grandos?"

"Grandes," Hisagi corrected. "Menos are what happens when a hollow thirsts for its own kind. When a hollow cannibalises enough of its fellow race, it evolves, and becomes a Menos. The Menos are of a completely different level to an average hollow. The average Shinigami can maybe just about face off against a Menos, and Vice-captains could probably take on several, but in my current state of exhaustion and injury, I doubt I could even take on one."

Renji's eyes widened in terror, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

Hisagi shook his head, "We can't do that. If a Menos got through to this world, he could easily break down the barrier we've erected to enclose this area. If the Menos got through, souls and the living alike would die in masses. It's our duty as Shinigami to prevent that from happening, even if we are set up for failure."

Just as he said that, there was a large groan heard from the sky. The group looked up to see pure white hands grasping the sides of the crack in the sky, and pulling it open further. After a moment, a head pulled through. The head was huge and it peered down at them. Within seconds, the Menos was fully out of its enclosure, and stood in front of them in all its glory.

"Fall back! None of you can go up against this thing. Especially in your current state, I'll hold it off! Even you Namikaze, you're the worst hurt of all of us!" Hisagi roared, as he bounded off to meet the Menos.

The Menos took one glance at the oncoming Shinigami, and held out both of its huge arms. A red orb began to fizzle in between them. Hisagi's eyes widened in terror, as the hollow shot a huge Cero at him. In his current state he stood no chance of dodging the high speed beam, and no Shinigami below Captain-class had blocked the Menos' ultimate Cero, the Death Beam, to date. Sticking his blade up, he awaited the inevitable.

He heard a roar pierce through the night sky, as he turned in time to see Naruto in front of him. The blonde held both his blades in front of his body, throwing all his body weight behind it, as he pushed against the Death Beam. "I won't let you get through!" He grunted out, his body convulsing and shuddering irregularly at the strain the effort was putting on him.

"No! You fool, move!" Hisagi roared out, but even as he said it, his eyes clouded over in guilt. Naruto was a great soldier, with amazing potential, yet he was to fall here, all for this?

"I – won't – let – you –get – passed! I've got too many dreams and ambitions, too many people to protect to fall here," he roared out, as his aura flared about him, encompassing the whole area, as it completely shrouded the red and black beam. He pushed against it, all his muscles taut, as he deflected it skywards.

Without pause, the blonde disappeared, with a yell of, "Two Sword Style: Decimation Front!" He reappeared in front of the Menos, and his blades flickered in the pitch blackness around them, as they moved to fast for the eye to see. His rapid series of blows shredded the huge hollow, which roared out in pain, as it attempted to swat him out of the sky.

"Allow me to bring salvation to your tainted soul, abhorred hollow!" He gasped out, as the Menos disintegrated into fine dust, which fluttered away with the wind. Without a moment to spare, Naruto slumped down, feeling darkness beginning to envelope him, as he fought back, his resistance futile.

Suddenly another groan was heard from the sky. Naruto looked up in horror, to see more hands push through, as more hollow pushed through. There was not one, not two, but three hollows this time. He tried to push himself to his feet, but fell down, his body dead with the strain, no longer willing to respond to his commands.

"Damn you, don't stop me know, I need to fight for a little longer," he made out, as he cursed his body for letting him down.

"Don't worry, rest, we'll take it over from here. You did well young one," a voice whispered in his ear. Naruto turned to see a brown haired man with glasses, and a grey haired man standing slightly behind the brown haired one. He faintly recognised them to be Sosuke Aizen, Captain of Squad 5, and Gin Ichimaru, his vice, but did not pay any attention to it.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he saw two of the Menos bearing down on them. As he made to warn Aizen, the man simply stuck out his right hand, and a huge blast of blue reiatsu was fired from his palm, incinerating the two hollow instantly, just as Ichimaru leapt over them, and finished the last hollow with two powerful strikes.

_So that's how I should have done it.. _was Naruto's last thought, as he drifted out of consciousness.

Aizen looked down at Naruto. _Namikaze Naruto, eh? You could either become a huge asset, or a huge obstacle to my plan. You will be an interesting milestone for me when the time comes, Naruto-san... _

Hope you enjoyed that.

I think things are beginning to spice up a bit, don't you?

Anyway, I decided to include a huge speech from Naruto, cause he always gives huge cool speeches which tend to sway the views of other characters in the anime, so I hope I didn't kill it too bad.

Remember to review,

_**Satansrogue**_


	7. Repercussions & Answers

Sorry I didn't write for so long, I was away on holiday and I was generally busy, but I'm back!

Here's te latest chapter of my fic.

Remember to review!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Naruto opened his eyes precariously, wincing at the sudden exposure to bright light

Naruto opened his eyes precariously, wincing at the sudden exposure to bright light. He was in pain, and found himself racked with a bought of coughs, as his eyes became accustomed to daylight.

As his gaze focused, he looked around, surveying his surroundings. He found himself in a room with whitewashed walls, and a single window, casing light to flood in on him. Pushing himself up on the bed he found himself on. He groaned slightly as his body was racked with pains. Carefully he flung his legs off the bed, and pulling of the chords and tubes attached to his body, he pushed up off the bed. Seeing his robe on a chair by the bed, he grabbed it and pulled it on. Taking his Zanpakutou, he strapped at across his back, feeling much better with the now familiar blade on his person once more. Taking a moment to adjust to walking once more, he made his way towards the door, before pushing it open, and finding himself peering into a bustling corridor.

There were dozens of Shinigami rushing through the corridor carrying towels, clothes and a number of other things, all seemingly in a hurry. Carefully he walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him, before making his way down the corridor. Looking around for a sign which would tell him where he was and how to get out, he did not notice a young boy rushing towards him, until they had collided. The boy found himself on the floor.

"I'm so sorry; I should have been looking where I was going," Naruto said, as he offered the boy a hand. The boy looked up, and as he took in Naruto's features, his eyes widened with recognition.

"You're Namikaze Naruto, the academy graduate who took a Menos!" He all but shouted in excitement.

In a matter of moments it seemed as if the whole corridor was huddled around Naruto and the boy. Excited chatter and questions were directed towards him.

"Hey, Namikaze-san, how did you do it?"

"Are you already healed?"

"Would you teach me?"

Naruto found himself nervous under the assault of questions, and retreated, pressing his back against the wall, as the mob seemed to grow in size.

"Enough!" A voice called out over the bickering. The crowd parted as Captain Unohana walked through the crowd, before turning and addressing them. "Naruto-san is a patient at our squad, and I'm sure he does not need to here your chatter, and that you are only giving the poor boy a headache with your bickering. Don't you have duties and patients to attend to?" The crowd began to disperse with grumblings at her words.

Turning around to face him Unohana-taichou addressed him with a smile, "Come Namikaze-san, walk with me." she said, before turning on her heel and leading him into the garden which was at the centre of her squad's barracks. "It is good to see you healed and well, Namikaze-san."

"Thank you, Unohana-taichou," Naruto said. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost four days. You gave us quite a fright to begin with, you had exhausted yourself physically and your wounds were deep and many. But, that is not what I wish to talk to you about. Your actions in battle have caused a fair bit of uproar in Seireitei, and as such, General Yamamoto wishes to see you in two days, once you are fully recovered and your bandages are undone. I must warn you, that all Captains and Vice-Captains will be present at the meeting, s watch yourself Namikaze-san."

"Thanks for the warning, and thank you for healing me, but I think I'm well enough to take these off now," Naruto said, gesturing towards the bandages, before tearing them off himself.

"You really shouldn't do that, it's very unlikely that your wounds have healed yet."

Naruto pulled off the bandages to reveal unblemished tanned skin on his stomach and arms.

Unohana gasped, "That shouldn't be possible, your wounds were too severe to have healed so quickly!"

Naruto smirked, "Don't worry 'bout it, I've always been a quick healer. Anyway, I think I'll head off now, if that's all the same to you?" Unohana nodded, absentmindedly as he left, still shocked by his recovery.

Naruto turned around and threw his robe on, before walking away from her.

* * *

Two days later, Naruto found himself in front of the huge double doors which lead to Godei 13's conference room, where he was to meet Yamamoto.

"You can go in now, Namikaze-san," One of the two guards outside the room said. Naruto nodded before pushing the doors wide open and walking into the room. The room seemed to be designed like a Roman amphitheatre, with pillars adorning its sides. In the centre was a rectangular table. At one end of the table sat Yamamoto, the other end had an empty seat. Along the sides of the tables sat the captains, with their vices sitting beside them. When he entered the room fell into hushed quiet, as the doors behind him shut with a dull thud.

"It is good that you arrived promptly Namikaze Naruto, for we have much to discuss," Yamamoto addressed him.

"Hai, General, I can see we do, and it must be important for the sheer number of high ranking officers you have gathered here today," Naruto observed, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. "So tell me sotaichou, which of my actions have offended you so?"

Most of the Shinigami gathered were either interested or outraged by this boy who would speak with such confidence to Yamamoto. However, Yamamoto himself appeared to be unperturbed.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, Fresh Graduate from the Shinigami Academy, it appears as if your conduct on the battle field has caused quite a stir. Your feats are quite remarkable to say the least," Yamamoto said, pausing for breathe before continuing, "In all my years, I have never come across any graduate who has been able to take out so many hollows, more so than any other Shinigami on the battle field that day, including Vice-captain Hisagi, and go on to cleanse a Menos Grandes in such a weakened state. Furthermore, it seems as if you deflected a Death Beam, a feat that only those gathered in this room and a sparse few others could achieve. It is obvious that your actions were instrumental in cleansing the hollows and saving many lives in the process. But-"

"Damn," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "There always has to be a 'but'."

Yamamoto raised his eyebrow at the interruption before continuing, "But, it also seems as if your actions on the day in question were misplaced, as the ranking officer on the scene clearly stated that you should have pulled back once he and his squad arrived. However, you not only ignored his orders, but also encouraged your cell-mates, Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji to follow your lead. The rules of Godei 13 and the Council state that you should be punished for these actions-"

"Would you rather that I had left? Left, and allowed comrades and friends of mine to fall in battle. Allowed myself to flee, and look back on that day forever more in shame, blaming myself for running, allowing brave men to fall needlessly," Naruto growled out heatedly. "You may be a coward Old Man, but I am not. Maybe you can live with the blood of Hisagi-fukutaichou and such brave men on your hands, but I cannot." Naruto closed his eyes, as his fingers curled into fists; he blinked as tears threatened to drop from his eyes.

"I've lost too many comrades in battle, and grieved over them too many times, to lose anymore needlessly. Perhaps you do not place value on their lives, but I do. One of my old senseis taught me that a man who does not follow the rules is trash, but a man who abandons his friends or comrades is worse than trash," Naruto finished, face flushed and panting.

"I agree with you on a moral level, however rules are rules Naruto-san," Yamamoto stated, sighing. "I'm afraid that the council has decided your punishment will be that for the next three months you will not be allowed out of Soul Society, meaning no trips to the outside world, even for missions. Furthermore, you will not be allowed to gain the status of seated officer for 6 months."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just work my way up after 6 months then. Is that all?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid not. The council also declared that your reiatsu will be limited to 50 at all times, except when you go on a mission, when you will be allowed 75. This will stand for three months."

"Whatever, I've got so much reiatsu and I don't even know what to do with it, I doubt I'll need more than 50 until I've trained for a bit. Is that all?"

Yamamoto sighed gravely before shaking his head, "I'm afraid not. You may be wondering why I called all of these people to this meeting. The reason is what I will say next." He paused for a moment as all eyes turned towards him, listening avidly to the grave old man. "Whilst you were being treated in hospital, a complete health check was run on you by Unohana-taichou, as is common in such serious cases as yours. However, her check up ran into some _inconsistencies_."

"Whilst you were alive, I understand you were the Jinchuuriki of the Lord of the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Yoko. I'm sure that since you have come to Seireitei, you must have wondered about what happened to the Great Demon. Your check-ups have shown that you not only have the reiatsu of a Shinigami but also that of a hollow, a very very powerful hollow at that.

You have to understand, that the Kyuubi is a transcendent being, and although its power may be stripped from it, it can never die. It can become a powerless spirit, a shadow of its former self, but it will always have a soul and conscience in the world and its own world. It seems that once you died, the Kyuubi also died, and it became something else. Since the Nine-tails was malignant and hateful its sole was wrought with fury and as such it became a hollow of great power. Even now, your reiatsu is keeping the Kyuubi in check, ensuring it bends to your will. It seems as if the Kyuubi has become a hollow... which exists inside you, giving you the powers of a Shinigami and a hollow."

Gasps ran through the room at this, Naruto himself shocked by this revelation.

"Stupid fox followed me into the afterlife as well?!"

"Sotaichou, does the hollow within Namikaze-san pose a threat to Seireitei? Can it break free?" Kuchiki Byakuya posed to the General.

Unohana answered the question for the General, knowing more about the situation than he, "My check-ups showed that, at present, the hollow does not seem to pose a threat. The hollow reiatsu within Namikaze-san is being held back by his own reiatsu. However, the hollow reiatsu within Namikaze-san is slowing gaining power, and soon it will gain enough to challenge him for dominion over his body."

"If he poses a threat in the future, it may be the right decision to eliminate him now, so that he cannot become a bigger threat later," Kurotsuchi Mayuri posed. "And perhaps you would let me run a few tests on him to help us comprehend this phenomenon before we do away with him."

"Mayuri you sick bastard," Hitsugaya-taichou growled out, slamming his hands down on the table, "I don't understand your grotesque fascination with experimenting on people, but I will not allow a Shinigami with achievements such as Namikaze's to fall into your hands!"

"I agree with Hitsugaya," Ukitake said, addressing those gathered in the room. "In my eyes, we owe a debt to Namikaze for ensuring the lives of our Shinigami in battle. Although his punishments are unavoidable, as they are issued by the council, I believe that his actions show that he above all else, is a righteous man and would not easily be waylaid to the darkness of the hollows. It is my belief, with knowledge of his past, that he, more so than any in this room, is the best equipped to handle this internal struggle, and I am sure that he will triumph and beat the hollow growing within him into submission."

"Damn right I will! It's about time I put that stupid fox into his place. I have had enough of him in life, and I wouldn't be able to stand another, much longer, lifetime with the furball again," Naruto said. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the wrath of the beast within me is not brought upon Seireitei, I would kill myself before I would allow that to happen. I will hold him back with every fibre of my being; I will train until I am ragged, until I am the best of you, to ensure that the fox will never be able to challenge me on equal terms!" Naruto pledged, bowing to them, before awaiting their reactions.

"I still believe we should eliminate Namikaze before he becomes a threat. His word is good and all, but at the end of the day, he holds a creature within him that is older than time itself, a creature none of us can even begin to comprehend! We should examine the fox's power source, and do away with this boy!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of "examining" Naruto.

Gin Ichimaru followed up, his freakish smile in place as usual, "I am inclined to follow Mayuri-san's way of thinking. Soon the demon fox will grow to powerful for Naruto-san to hold and it may break out and pose a threat to the peace in Seireitei. I will not allow that to occur."

"None of you sat here today were there to witness Naruto-san in battle, only I was," Hisagi said. "Not a single one of you saw the fire burning in his eyes, the _need _to triumph and protect. Never before have I seen such flawless execution of attacks, the simple grace and fluidity with which Naruto attacks is beyond all comprehension. The fire that burns in his eyes and his heart, rages alike a beacon in the darkness, ignited by his own will to succeed, his own determination and his own thirst to protect. I believe that we should put our trust in Naruto, and teach and nurture him for the task that lies ahead for him, rather than to push him away and scheme against him. He has potential, a whole sea of the stuff."

The captains turned to face Naruto, giving him calculating glances, taking in his appearance from head to toe. Naruto met their gazes confidently, never blinking, almost challenging them to argue against Hisagi.

"As, troublesome as it may be to have Blondie over there n board, I guess I'll have to agree with Hisagi. I don't think Seireitei has ever seen a prodigy like him before, not even Toushiro-chan was this good," Kyoraku stated, meeting Hitsugaya's enraged expression with a laugh, before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, allowing his straw hat to fall over his eyes.

"It seems as if the brat has the potential to be strong, it may just get interesting with him around," Kenpachi stated, his eyes twinkling with fighting intent, Naruto meeting his gaze with a smirk, nodding in recognition of the challenge.

Sajin, who had remained silent thus far, spoke up, "I will not allow for Namikaze-san to be killed or experimented on for this, something which he had no control over. I know well the pain of being ostracized and hated for something that I had no say over. It is his past and experiences that make Namikaze-san so powerful, as mine have done to me."

Yamamoto looked around. Only Soifon, Tousen and Aizen had yet to put across their views on the matter. Soifon and Tousen were usually quite, and irresponsive, so this was to be expected of them. However, Aizen was usually very vocal in these meetings, yet now, he seemed to be staring at Naruto in interest and curiosity, as if planning or plotting.

Yamamoto cleared his throat, getting the attention of those gathered before speaking. "It seems as if Naruto-san has much support, and as a result, I am inclined to allow him to live on in the Shinigami ranks unharmed and unaffected, and he is to be treated no differently for the fact he is the container of such a powerful hollow.

Now, onto a happier note! Due to the fact that we were unsure of whether or not you would be executed, Godei 13 has yet to place you in a team, Namikaze-san. As a result, your team will be chosen now," Yamamoto said. Everyone suddenly paid attention, sitting more rigidly in their seats, even Kyoraku opened one of his eyes, watching Yamamoto intently. Yamamoto reached for a paper at the top of a pile that sat in front of him on the desk. He read out what was written on it loudly and clearly.

"Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Prodigy of the academy, who was skipped ahead to final year at the Academy, due to how adept he was at Hand-to-hand combat and kenjutsu. Hand-to-hand combat is exceptional, beyond the level of any student ever to attend the academy. Zanjutsu is also well above what has ever been seen before at Academy level. Kido is not as strong, but still well above average, scoring in third in his year for the subject. Also uses his tremendous speed as an advantage in battle. Although he has yet to learn **Shunpo**, his natural speed from using gravity seals in life, has resulted in his being almost as fast as Shunpo anyway.

Has already fought hollows in battle, killing as many as Vice-Captain Hisagi, if not more, and went onto destroy a Menos, defending against its Death Beam! Certainly an impressive résumé, wouldn't you agree? Now, we come to the crunch! Who would like him in their squad?"

"From his fighting skills, I can tell straight off the bat that he'll fit in perfectly in my squad," Kenpachi growled out, glancing across the table, as if challenging them to challenge him.

"I believe he will feel most welcome in my squad. Our squad also specialises in all-rounder's, of his type," Aizen stated, earning a glare from Kenpachi.

"Although I would like for him to be in my squad, I do not believe he would fit in," Kyoraku said, sighing.

"I'll take him," said Hitsugaya, "I think he'd be most comfortable in my squad."

"No." Everyone turned in surprise, shocked at hearing Soifon, renowned for never saying a word at these meetings... talk! "You are wrong. He would be comfortable in my squad, I can tell. His skills are most suitable fore Squad 2, and I assure you I will keep an eye on him and train him for his duty as best I can."

Naruto smirked raising an eyebrow, giving Soifon an appraising glance, "You can keep an eye on me all you want, I'm all up for it!"

The other captains were shocked, never before had Soifon actively asked for somebody to be placed in her squad, she would always take whoever was left over, never seeming to care who it was. Yet, this boy had changed all of that, and caused her to actually _want _him in her squad!

2Well, it seems as if that's settled! Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto will be placed in Squad 2 under the tutelage of Soifon-taichou! Adjourned!" Yamamoto roared out, dismissing them.

Naruto smirked before giving Soifon one more look and turning on his heel and confidently striding out of the room. _Squad 2, huh? This should be interesting!_

* * *

I know it was pretty short, but I hoped you liked it!

Remember to review!

**Satansrogue**


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys. For the first time in a long time I logged onto the e-mail account I made my account with, and to my great shock and surprise I noticed that I was still getting reviews for stories I haven't added to for almost two years!

I honestly never thought anyone would miss my stories that much, or enjoy them that much. So I apologise for leaving you hanging for so long!

Unfortunately, I return with bad news. My stories, as from this moment onwards are DISCONTINUED! But, please don't stop reading now, allow me to explain why.

As aforementioned, it's been almost two years since I've posted, and in this time I've grown as a person, and my writing style has matured a great deal, since I was just a kid when I was writing before. So looking back, I know I could never allow myself to continue the stories I had left behind in good mind, knowing I can do better.

Moreover, I think part of the issue was that I had so many stories going at once, that I often found myself confused between which one to update, and what was going on in their respective plotlines.

So, I'm taking this opportunity to announce my return as a fanfiction author, but this time I will be writing fewer stories at once, most probably one at a time.

The first chapter of my new story will hopefully be up shortly, I'll start writing now!

SR


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